NPD says Android sits atop U.S. smart phone market for Q2 ~ TwinrainbO

If you've been following along, getting definitive smart phone market share numbers can be a little tricky so take this with a grain of salt.

According to the NPD Group, the Android operating system is now the top smart phone platform with 33 percent of the market in Q2. That puts it ahead of BlackBerry at 28 percent and the iPhone at 22 percent and represents the first time since 2007 that the BlackBerry wasn't the top operating system in the U.S.

This comes just days after Nielsen said that BlackBerry remained on top with 33 percent of the market in Q2, ahead of Android's 27 percent market share and the iPhone's 23 percent. The Nielsen figures looked at the six months up through Q2 while NPD focused just on the quarter so that may explain the discrepancy.

But the overall picture is that Android is growing and fast. That it eclipsed the iPhone isn't much of a surprise considering there are more than a dozen Android phones available on four carriers, compared to really just one iPhone model sold through AT&T.

But if the NPD numbers are true, Android's rise and BlackBerry's fall are more pronounced than I originally thought. I assumed that BlackBerry would enjoy an advantage for a little while longer but the threat from Android is very real.

This makes Research in Motion's new BlackBerry Torch even more of a vital product for the company. RIM is not trying to hold on to its top spot, it'll need the Torch to help regain it.

NPD's Ross Rubin said the Torch and its new BlackBerry 6 operating system, won't likely blunt the Android onslaught.

"Blackberry 6 will soon offer features that have been popular in recently launched Android handsets, such as support for capacitive touchscreens and a WebKit-based browser. However, the Blackberry Torch lacks the large screen allure that has characterized the best selling Android devices at its price point, including the Droid Incredible and EVO 4G," Rubin said.

So the Android army claims another victim. Is this the start of a long reign by Android?