Android Wins in the U.S. Smartphone Wars [REPORT]

Android has eclipsed iPhone and RIM devices as the number one smartphone OS in the United States, according to a new report from Nielsen.
Android OS smartphones account for 29% of the U.S. market; iOS and RIM devices stand at 27% each, according to Nielsen’s research.
Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 devices account for 10% of the U.S. smartphone market; Palm is at 4%; Symbian holds onto a 2% share; and finally, there’s a 1% “other” category, which would include OSes like the Linux-based MeeGo.
Before you start planning your ticker tape parade, these are stats from just one group, and conflicting stats from other research and mobile organizations are likely to appear in the very near future. Nevertheless, estimates from last year stated Android might be the top mobile OS by 2014; to say that this new report trumps all expectations of Android’s market performance is a drastic understatement.
Late last year, we saw Android adoption surpass Windows Mobile; a January 2011 report showed Android nipping at iOS’s heels. And just last month, Nielsen’s stats showed Android, iOS and RIM in a dead heat.
So, what might have been the determining factors in Android’s ever-accelerating success?
First, we’d call your attention to the original Motorola Droid, the OS’s first real blockbuster device, and in some ways, the first device that felt truly consumer-ready. The Droid reportedly sold 100,000 units at its launch, 250,000 units in its first week, and sparked a wave of Android popularity that had Android smartphones flying off shelves literally faster than they could be stocked.
The other big turning point for the Android ecosystem was the launch of Froyo, the OS version that finally brought Android to parity with the iPhone — both in technical reality and in the fickle and emotional mind of the public. For the first time, smartphone buyers began to see Android devices as a viable alternative to the iPhone, not a “less-than” knockoff or poor man’s substitute.
Perhaps the kicker for Android’s popularity was the fact that more and more first-time smartphone buyers were turning to Android. And why wouldn’t they? Android devices, because of their diversity, offered more hardware options on more carriers, making the smartphone upgrade easier and more appealing than ever.
In the comments, let us know why you think Android’s success and adoption rates have been on such a drastic uptick in the past couple years. Is it the constantly improving technology? The combined marketing efforts of a handful of multinational corporations? Or something else?