Android based cellphones have surpassed iPhone sales in the first quarter of the year 2010. This study was published in  a report by research firm The NPD Group ^[1]. The data is valid only for the US.  It places RIM’s Blackberry at top with 36% of sales followed by Android with 28% of sales. Apple iPhone recorded a 21% of total cellphone sales, which puts it behind Android. A large part of this sale drive is credited to Verizon which went out of its way to promote Android with a $100 million marketing campaign ^[2]. An extract from the report says,

Strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Blackberry Curve via these promotions helped keep Verizon Wireless’s smartphone sales on par with AT&T in Q1. According to NPD’s  Mobile Phone Track ^[3], smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

Android is gaining steadily and stably. It has an awesome community and has created a secure ecosystem for itself. This report places Android ahead by only a small fraction, for only one quarter and in only a single country. Though, soon this situation may extend to a larger scale. Given the rigidity Apple is showing nowadays, Android handsets offer an equally competitive and far more flexible product at a lesser price. This is a win for Android and the day is soon when it will get ahead of iPhone in this smartphone race. (Via:Venturebeat ^[4])