Research firm Gartner predicts that Google's Android platform will significantly boost smartphone sales over the next two years, and that Windows Phone 7 will soon overtake iPhone in the mobile market.
Growing demand for Android will see the overall market for smartphones grow by 58 per cent this year and 35 per cent next, according to Gartner's latest report.
Windows Phone 7 to overtake iOS?
Android will grow to a total smartphone market share of 39 per cent, while the ailing Symbian platform will see its market share halved to around 19 per cent this year.
Windows Phone 7, Nokia's new partner after recently ditching Symbian, is set to grow to a market share of 11 per cent in 2012 and increase to around 20 per cent of the total smartphone market by 2015, according to Gartner.
This essentially means that Gartner foresees Windows Phone 7 overtaking iPhone in terms of popularity by 2015, becoming the second most popular smartphone platform after Android.
Gartner's statement predicts that: "Nokia will push Windows Phone well into the mid-tier of its portfolio by the end of 2012, driving the platform to be the third largest in the worldwide ranking by 2013.
"Gartner has revised its forecast of Windows Phone's market share upward, solely by virtue of Microsoft's alliance with Nokia. Although this is an honorable performance it is considerably less than what Symbian had achieved in the past, underlying the upward battle that Nokia has to face."
Garter sees Apple's iOS doing slightly better, but RIM's BlackBerry faring less well, in the future. Gartner pegs iOS will own 17.2 per cent of the smartphone market in 2015 and RIM's BlackBerry will own 11.1 per cent.
