Google Android To Run 400,000 Sold Units By End of 2008 (4% Smartphone Market Share)

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android is set to debut on September 23 for a demo and hit stores by the end of October.  The T-Mobile HTC Dream will be the first phone to power Google Android.  Strategy Analytics predicts that Android will reach 4% of smartphones by the end of 2008.  That equates to 400,000 units sold. 

Smartphones are defined as a mobile device that is powered by an operating system with e-mail and Internet capabilities.  This includes BlackBerries, Treos, iPhones, etc. 

“We forecast 10.5 million smartphones to be sold in the U.S.during Q4 2008,” stated Neil Mawston, Director of the Wireless Device Strategies division at Strategy Analytics. “We estimate smartphones with Google’s Android operating system, led by HTC of Taiwan, will reach 0.4 million units in the quarter, for a 4 percent market share. Android is a relatively late entrant and it will join an increasingly crowded market.”

Google announced that many applications can be built around the Android platform.  The Android Market will competes directly with the Apple iPhone App Store.  Apple’s App Store has already sold over 100 million applications this month.  Some of the applications for the Android will revolve around GPS, Wi-Fi, touch, and Bluetooth technologies. 

Many people are skeptical about the impact Google Android will have when compared to the iPhone.  But looking at Google’s brand power, they were able to get 2 million people to download Chrome in one week–so anything is possible for them right now.

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3. Google Android May Be An Asylum For Apple iPhone Application Developers
4. The FCC Approves Google Android On HTC Dream Phone, To Be Available Through T-Mobile In November
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