• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, July 13, 2010

Google's Android platform continues to gain ground on Apple's iOS, picking up 1.3% market share among smartphone operating systems in June. Android now claims a 21% share of the North American market -- well ahead of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion's 10% but still a distant second to Apple's 58% share, according to new data from Web research firm Quantcast.

Both Apple's iOS and RIM's operating system for the BlackBerry dropped 0.7% share in the last month. Android has gained 4.1% share in the last quarter and 14.1% in the first half of 2010. The gains have come at the expense of both Apple and RIM -- down 7.7% and 5.7%, respectively -- as well as other smartphone operating systems.

With the launch of the iPhone 4 last month, however, Quantcast expects Apple to have a stronger showing in July. The company has said a record 1.7 million of the devices were sold in its first three days of release ending June 26. Analysts have forecast that up to 10 million iPhone 4s could be sold during the quarter, despite shortages and a widely publicized problem with the phone's antenna.

But the sheer number of Android-based phones across offered by different operators could mean the Google mobile OS will eventually overtake iOS in market share. There are currently about 60 Android models available, and Google says 160,000 are activated each day.

Market research firm NPD Group reported in May that sales of Android phones outpaced the iPhone for the first time in the first quarter, ranking second only to BlackBerry phones.

And new research from comScore last week showed that Android had gained four percentage points over the three months ending in May to grab an overall share of 13% among smartphone platforms in the U.S. as Apple slipped a percentage point to 24.4%.

In addition to releasing the iPhone 4, one other possible ace up Apple's sleeve to maintain market share is partnering with Verizon. The latest rumor is that the Verizon iPhone will launch next year, with one analyst predicting that nine million of the devices will be activated by the nation's largest carrier in 2011. Verizon has benefited from the success of the Android-powered Droid phones -- the latest of which, the Droid X from Motorola, debuted a day before the iPhone 4.