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Doubts Raised Over Mobile OS Data

Some people are taking issues with the latest findings from NPD, which shows that Android was the best-selling smartphone operating system in the first quarter -- grabbing 61% of the market -- while Apple's iOS was in second, with 29% of the market. There's a big problem with this data,” claims Business Insider. “It runs contrary to what the carriers themselves are actually reporting.”

At AT&T, Apple activated 4.3 million iPhones, or 78% of all AT&T smartphones for the quarter. At Verizon, it activated 3.2 million iPhones, or 51% of all Verizon smartphones for the quarter. At Sprint, it activated 1.5 million iPhones, or 60% of all smartphones for the quarter, according to Macquarie's Kevin Smithen. “Total it all up, and Apple had 63% of the smartphone market on those three big carriers,” BI writes. Meanwhile, Ross Rubin, executive director for Connected Intelligence at NPD, says his data is based on surveying 12,811 consumers about what smartphones they bought in the first quarter.

"NPD tracks sellthrough of new handsets,” according to Rubin. “This is different than activations, which may include used or refurbished handsets. Also, NPD tracks only the consumer retail market and does not track enterprise sales. Third, according to our information, Verizon, AT&T and Sprint together account for 60 percent of the carriers connected with mobile phones. Their share of postpaid is significantly higher, but still significantly below 90 percent."

 

Read the whole story at Business Insider »

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