Google Android outsells Apple's iPhoneOS

Google’s Android software outsold Apple’s mobile operating system for the first time last quarter among new US smartphone users, according to Nielsen Co.

Android had 27 per cent of the US market in the second quarter, compared with 23 per cent for the Apple iPhone OS, known as iOS, Nielsen said on its website today. Research In Motion Ltd clung to its leading position, with 33 per cent share.

Manufacturers such as Motorola Inc and HTC Corp. used Android in a wider range of handsets, giving new smartphone purchasers more options. Still, the iPhone retained a higher share than Android among existing smartphone users, according to Nielsen’s research.

“There’s a massive hunger for smartphones, and the Android universe came out not just with one blockbuster device but with a whole series of blockbuster devices,” Roger Entner, head of telecom research at Nielsen, said in an interview.

Motorola’s Droid is sold through Verizon Wireless, the largest US mobile-phone service provider. Sprint Nextel Corp introduced the Evo 4G, made by HTC, in June.