Android gains 52% market share in US

Recent NPD data suggests that the Android operating system is rapidly growing the US market; 52% of phones sold in the country in the last quarter were Android-enabled. That’s huge growth over the 36% reported by Gartner in May.

In comparison, main rival Apple and the iOS trailed behind on 29% of the market share while Blackberry fell to 11%. Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile and webOS hold 5 percent each.

“Android’s momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola’s Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer,” said Ross Rubin, NPD’s executive director of industry analysis.

“Much as it did in the feature phone market in the RAZR era, Motorola is experiencing increased competition from Samsung and LG in the smartphone market. Closer ties to the heart of Android can help inspire new paths to differentiation.”

The figures are somewhat surprising given Apple’s dominance in today’s market. Not that they’ll be going anywhere any time soon.