Because of its open nature, Google’s Android operating system is found on a wide range of hardware devices. It can be found on phones, tablets, music players, media players, TVs and even digital cameras. Therefore, many smartphone manufacturer companies launch a new smartphone every year.

 Android’s popularity means that there are smartphones available for almost every price point, and the devices come from different smartphone manufacturer which comes in a diverse range of sizes and specifications. It is thought that there are over 50 different manufacturers of the Android smartphone, but the key question is who is at the top?

In 2011, Motorola was the third most popular smartphone manufacturer. According to ad impressions served by the advertising giant Millennial Media, it had around 22% of the market. Millennial Media’s data is probably biased towards the USA, however, it reflects the same general trends for Europe, but less so for Asia.
Google’s acquisition of Motorola was completed in 2012, but the transition period seems to have justified Motorola one step behind. During 2012, it maintained its third place position, but now with only 11% of the market share.
Smartphone Manufacturer
The top smartphone manufacturer during 2011 was without doubt HTC. Mobile advertising suggests that it had nearly one-third of the smartphone market. However, 2012 proved to be a difficult year for HTC. The previous number one Android handset manufacturer has now had to take second place with a 16% market share.
For Q4 2012, HTC posted its lowest profit in recent years at $34.48 million. For the same period in 2011, the company made ten times that amount at $380 million. HTC’s CEO is telling investors that the worst is over. The company is working on version 5 of its Sense UI and has already released some interesting phones for 2013.
The big mover in 2012 was Samsung. In 2011, the Korean giant held a slim lead (of just 1%) over Motorola, making it the second largest Android company. However, its fortunes improved during 2012. Building on the success of its Galaxy SII, Samsung released the Galaxy SIII during the summer and soared to take a breathtaking 46% of the market share. Of course, the Galaxy SIII was not the only phone in Samsung’s product range. However, it was the flagship device which led the way.
In the 2012 breakdown, after Samsung, HTC and Motorola comes LG with 9% of the market, and the remaining 18% is made up of the other 46 or so manufacturers which include companies like Sony and Huawei.
Gary Sims is a mobile app developer, technical writer, and contributor to http://www.mobileadvertisingcomparison.com