Android overtakes Symbian as world's most popular smartphone OS

London, Feb 2 (ANI): Nokia's Symbian is no more the best smartphone operating system - it has been toppled over by Google's Android.

According to figures released by analysts Canalys, during the last quarter of 2010 a total of 32.9million Android-equipped phones were sold globally -roughly seven times more than during the same time period in 2009 - compared to Symbian sales of 31million.

However, the numbers also indicate that Google succeeded in battling Apple, whose shipments of its popular iPhone increased to 16.2million from 8.7million in the fourth quarter of 2009, when it almost doubled Android's sales of 4.7million.

The crux of the success lies in the fact that unlike Apple or Nokia, Google does not make its own phone hardware, but instead offers its Android operating system to other phone makers who can adapt it to suit their devices.

As a result of this and being free of charge, Android has become the standard software for many phone makers, reports the Daily Mail.

Google has also sped ahead of Apple in tablet computers, where its market share rose to 22 per cent in the fourth quarter, while Apple's share fell to 75 per cent from 95 per cent, according to Strategy Analytics.

However, Google's Android Marketplace still lags far behind Apple's in size.

The increasing popularity of the Android has caused experts to suggest that Nokia may announce plans to introduce smartphone models using Android. (ANI)