Tesco: Android has overtaken iPhone
UK network spills the sales beans
Tesco has revealed that the sale of Android phones on its network have surpassed Apple's iPhone for the first time.
Tesco, a virtual mobile operator running on O2's network, says its customers indicate that Google's operating system is poised to grow even larger in 2011.
In the pre-Christmas period the iPhone was outselling Android smartphones by a factor of two to one, but January saw what Tesco is describing as a 'rapid increase' in Android sales to gain parity.
And February has seen Android overtake iPhone sales, although it should be pointed out that the new iPhone 5 UK release date is likely to be in July, and could shake things up once more.
Barometer
"As one of the UK's leading operators, these sales are a useful barometer for smartphone trends," said Graham Harris, chief executive officerof Tesco Telecoms and Tesco Mobile.
"There is a lot of choice in the market and as a result consumers are driving healthy competition between rival operating systems."
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"Tesco Mobile prides itself on customer service and offering customers what they want, through a wide range of competitive deals on all platforms. In addition to competitive Android smartphone deals, we also offer iPhone on a variety of fantastic 12 month [contracts]"
"However, we commend this healthy competition between operating systems as we see this as helping to drive consumer choice and flexibility."
Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content. After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.