More consumers than ever are considering the purchase of an Android-powered smartphone according to ChangeWave Research, who surveyed 4,068 consumers in December. The research shows that 21% of consumers who plan on buying a smartphone in the next 90 days would prefer their smartphone to run Android, up from 6% in September 2009.
This mirrors ComScore's findings from the same period, where 17% of American consumers in the market for a smartphone were planning on buying an Android device, closing in on the 20% of consumers planning on buying an iPhone 3G or 3GS.
The surging interest in Android has led to a significant decline in interest for iPhone, Windows Mobile and Palm devices, all down by 3-pts since the last survey in September.
Also of interest is the jump in smartphone buyers who plan on buying a Motorola device in the next 90 days - from 1% in September to 13% in December - no doubt driven largely by the $100 million Verizon spent advertising the Motorola Droid.
With a steady flow of Android devices on the horizon vying for consumer attention, including HTC's Droid Eris, LG's GW620, and Google's Nexus One, it will be interesting to see how Apple addresses the issues with the iPhone platform in order to compete. The notoriously closed environment, well-publicized hostility toward developers, and a yearly release cycle will be increasingly difficult to maintain as Android matures.
Via ChangeWave