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Android Expected to Dominate Smartphones Long Term

There is some uncertainty in the smartphone market as to how the introduction of Windows 8 as well as Windows Phone 8 will impact the current two-horse race market.

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Analysts at Ovum, however, do not believe that the leadership of Android will change over the next five years.

According to the market research firm, smartphone sales will continue at a strong pace and grow an average of 24.9 percent until 2017, reaching 1.7 billion units by then. In comparison, feature phone shipments are expected to only grow by an average of 6.3 percent between 2011 and 2017 and primarily gain because of increasing demand in emerging markets. Saturated markets such as North America and Western Europe "will be almost entirely made up of smartphones," Ovum said.

The firm also noted that handset makers are making Android their "primary smartphone platform," which results in Android continuing to dominate the market until 2017. "Android will dominate the smartphone market over the next five years,” said Adam Leach, principal analyst at Ovum, in a prepared statement. “While Apple has defined the smartphone market since it introduced the iPhone in 2007, we’re now seeing a sharp rise in the shipment volumes of Android, signaling its appeal to leading handset manufacturers."

In 2011, Android accounted for 44 percent of all smartphones sold, Ovum stated. The forecast share in 2017 will be 48 percent, while iOS is predicted to own 27 percent of the market. Microsoft will be able to become relevant, the market research firm said, but will only hold 13 percent of the market in 2017. RIM's Blackberry will be down to 10 percent, according to Ovum.