80% of mobile devices shipped last year ran on Android

Nearly eight out of 10 smartphones shipped out last year were running Google’s Android operating system, according to an independent analysis published today. Technology trends watcher Canalys tracked shipments of the handsets for more than 50 countries and found an 11 per cent boost in Android’s dominance from 2012.

For quite awhile now, there has been no question about which operating system dominates the smartphone market, domestic or worldwide. Android’s reach is not slowing down either, based on a new report from global market research firm Canalys. Starting at the top, analysts estimated that approximately 998 million smartphones shipped in 2013. Nearly 80 percent of them — 785 million or so — ran on Android. But Windows Mobile is coming on the strongest, poised to be the biggest disruptor in 2014.