The Android operating system from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is the leading platform smartphone platform in among 78.5 million US smartphone owners. The iOS operating system that powers the iPhone from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is the second most popular platform, followed by the Blackberry OS from Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM), Windows Mobile/Phone 7 from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Symbian from Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK).

The June 2011 rankings have just been released by comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), and Android now runs 40.1% of all US smartphones.  That’s a gain of 5.4% from the March survey which gave Android a 34.7% share. Apple’s gain was a much smaller 1.1%, giving the Cupertino company a market share of 26.6%. RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia all lost share.

Among handset makers, Samsung (OTC: SSNLF) now leads with 25.3% of the market, a gain of 0.8% since March. LG Electronics gained 0.4% to grab a 21.3% share. Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) lost -1.3% of its share in June, but held on to third place with 14.5% of the market. Apple gained 1%, and controls 8.9% of the market, and RIM lost 0.5% to give it 7.9% of the handset market in June.

Globally, Apple leads handset makers with a 19.1% share of the market according to a report from IDC. Samsung, with a 16.2% share, was the fastest growing. In third place globally is Nokia, followed by RIM and HTC Corp.

Microsoft and Nokia are working on joint project to release a new handset built by Nokia to run the Windows 7 mobile OS, and the Redmond, Washington-based company is believed to be building its next mobile operating system, dubbed Windows 8, eventually to include smartphones. Apple is believed to have a head start in developing a single OS for to replace both Mac OS X Lion and iOS.

Google’s global market share of the smartphone OS space is nearing 50% according to research at Canalys.  Global smartphone shipments grew by 73% year-over-year in the second quarter, and Android shipments grew by almost 380% in the same period. Samsung’s handset shipments rose to 17 million in the quarter, up 421% year-over-year. Samsung also supports the Windows Mobile/Phone 7 operating systems and its own proprietary OS.

Nokia and RIM are the losers in handset shipments, with RIM experiencing a year-over-year decline from 33% to 12%. Nokia still does well in the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, but has performed poorly elsewhere. The company needs a big winner from it’s Microsoft deal if it hopes to survive.

All these surveys match up pretty well and they all tell the same story: the battle for turf in smartphones is being waged between Google and Apple. Whether Microsoft/Nokia can change that remains to be seen.

Paul Ausick

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