Apple shipped an impressive 16.9 million iPhones in the first three months of this year, according to Gartner. The downside for Apple, however, is that 36.2 million Android-based smartphones shipped in the first quarter — up from 8.36 million units one year earlier.
Android’s steep rise suggests that Apple’s hold on the leadership position in the smartphone application space is slipping. If past history is any indication, however, Apple may begin offering the iPhone 4 at a reduced price after the new iPhone 5 launches later this year, noted Gartner Research Vice President Carolina Milanesi.
“Apple has been decreasing the price of the previous generation device when the new one launched so I would expect a similar trend this time around,” Milanesi said in an email Friday. “It will depend what kind of [iPhone 5] improvements we will see as to how much discount we will see on the iPhone 4 and indeed if the 3GS will continue to ship.”
LTE On The Backburner
Still, Apple will need to do more to keep from eventually being overwhelmed by Android’s startling growth, which rose 36 percent year-over-year in the March ending quarter. By contrast, Apple’s iPhone shipments grew 16.8 percent growth during the same period, according to Gartner.
Earlier this month, Google said it was activating over 400,000 Android-based handsets on a daily basis, and with more than 100 million devices based on Google’s mobile platform already in play. Android Market is also growing rapidly. Over 200,000 free and paid applications were available in Android Market as of May 10, with more than 4.5 billion applications already installed on handsets worldwide.
One looming issue that gives Android-based handset makers a potential edge is the wireless industry’s ongoing transition to LTE. According to Piper Jaffray, LTE modems currently consume too much power to meet Apple’s…
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