Google gains on RIM, Apple in mobile software

Google Inc.'s Android operating system is making gains on Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry, Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone in the U.S. smartphone software market, according to ComScore Inc.

Google increased its market share by 4 percentage points to 13 percent in the three months ended in May, Reston, Virginia- based ComScore said today in a statement. RIM's BlackBerry fell less than 1 point to 41.7 percent, remaining the market leader. Apple was second, dropping 1 point to 24.4 percent. Google ranked fourth, behind Microsoft. Locally, RIM has operations in Rolling Meadows.

The bevy of new smartphones being introduced that run on Android will help Mountain View, California-based Google win even more market share going forward, analysts said. Among them are Motorola Inc.'s Droid X, which will be released July 15, and several models from Samsung Electronics Co.

"Android is changing the game," Will Stofega, program director at consultant IDC, said in a phone interview today. "It's the sheer proliferation of Android devices."

Google rose $1.97 to $452.17 at 3:19 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock had fallen 27 percent this year before today. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, fell $1.63 to $257.04. Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM dropped 61 cents to $49.09, and Microsoft, in Redmond, Washington, declined 14 cents to $24.17.

Google's Android software might grab Microsoft's third- place spot "within the next few months," Andrew Lipsman, senior director of industry analysis at ComScore, said in an interview. "That's the trajectory right now."

'Feature-Rich' PhonesApple should regain any share losses within weeks, because of robust sales of its new iPhone 4, which became available on June 24, Lipsman said. "We are likely to see Apple and Google both to continue to consume share."Among phone makers, Samsung gained 1 percentage point of U.S. market share in the period for a three-month average of 22.4 percent, according to ComScore. LG Electronics Inc., Schaumburg-based Motorola and Nokia Oyj, in second, third and fifth place, respectively, lost share. RIM, in fourth place, increased its share by half a percentage point to 8.7 percent."Samsung has done a very good job bringing feature-rich phones to market that are priced very well," Mark Donovan, senior vice president of mobile at ComScore, said in an interview.