Android achieves Windows-type monopoly in Taiwan as HTC overtakes Nokia in sales volume and value

Android is the dominant smartphone platform pretty much everywhere, but nowhere is Google’s lead more evident than in Taiwan, the country traditionally on the bleeding edge of technology. According to the Asian trade publication DigiTimes which cited the latest data from IDC, the 990,00 smartphones accounted for half the 1.97 million cell phones shipped in Taiwan during the second quarter of this year.

Taiwan will probably become the first country where all phones will eventually become smartphones as shipments of feature phones dropped 17 percent sequentially and 32 percent annually: As for Android:

Android-based smartphones accounted for over 70% of all smartphones sold in Taiwan in the second quarter, followed by iOS and Symbian models, the data showed.

Mind you, this isn’t the Android-iOS monopoly any more, this is a Windows-type monopoly and it’s unfolding in Taiwan before our very eyes. Makes you wonder if that’s a sign of things to come elsewhere in the world. The gap between Android and iOS in Taiwan is unheard-of. And with just 30 percent of smartphones divided between iOS and Symbian, Apple’s platform is likely far behind Android in Taiwan. Of course…

Taiwan is the market where Samsung absolutely leads and iPhone doesn’t exactly come cheap nor is it available via many carriers. Second-best phone vendor was HTC, per IDC data and channel checks. They beat Nokia for the first time in Taiwan, with seven out of the top 10 phones belonging to HTC. The company led the pack with a 17 percent share of smartphone sales volume in July (30 percent sales value).