SYDNEY: Apple's iPhone is set to become the number one smartphone in Australia by the end of the year, knocking Nokia from the top spot.
The handset has quadrupled its share of the nascent smartphone market in the year to March, with the phone's MAC OS operating system upping its market share from 10.2% in the first quarter of last year to 40.3% for the corresponding period this year.
The figures were compiled by market research analyst IDC, which found that Google's competing Android operating system, used by HTC and Motorola, increased its market share from just 0.6% to 2.1% across the same periods.
Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system was the biggest loser, with its market share falling by 43.1% to 3.4% over the same periods. The platform is deployed on handsets manufactured by Samsung, HTC and Palm.
The survey results have big implications for app developers in the Australian market, with those eyeing up opportunities for the Android platform perhaps better advised to switch their attentions to the iPhone.
News of Apple's growing market share in Australia is well timed, coming ahead of the launch of the next version of the iPhone, which is set to hit shelves in Australia in late July.
Apple has not yet revealed pricing for the iPhone 4 for the Australian market. The phone boasts a re-designed exterior, HD video in 720p resolution, and a new, high-resolution display with a higher pixel count.
Apple is also on the brink of launching, iAd, a dedicated mobile advertising initiative which will enable developers to create free and low cost apps that can be embedded into mobile web pages on the iPhone.
Ad revenues for iAds, which will run in the second half of the year and include launch US advertisers such as Nissan, BestBuy, Target, Disney, Unilever and AT&T, have hit the $US60m ($35m AUD) mark pre-launch.
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