Survey Finds Dramatic Increase in Consumer Interest in Google's Android OS

A survey performed by a research firm has found that consumer interest in Google's Android OS has risen dramatically in the past few months, to the point where it now rivals interest in Apple's iPhone.

ChangeWave Research asked 4,068 consumers in December about their smartphone preferences. Of those planning to buy one of these devices in the next 90 days, 21% said they'd prefer to have the Android OS. For comparison, when this survey was performed in September, just 6% of respondents were interested in Android.

Google's December number was just behind the Apple iPhone's, which 28% of respondents getting a smartphone in the next three months said they were interested in. That was down 4% from the previous survey.

In December, 18% of respondents were considering a BlackBerry (up 1%), 9% were interested in Windows Mobile (down 3%) and just 3% were interested in the webOS (down 3%).

In a Word: the Droid
There can be little doubt as to the basis for much the sudden interest in Android-powered devices: the release of the Motorola Droid, and the accompanying blizzard of TV ads. As evidence, in September, just 1% of smartphone buyers said they were interested in Motorola. By December, that number had jumped up to 13%.

Still, Motorola is well behind Apple in consumer interest (32% down from 36%) and RIM (21% down from 27%) but it cut into both of these rival's leads.

A Rising Tide
In the last few years, smartphones have gone from being a niche product to the mainstream. In December, 42% of respondents to ChangeWave's survey said they already own a smartphone – that's up 3% since September.

Going forward, 13% of respondents say they plan on buying a smartphone in the next three months. That's the second highest response to this question ever recorded in this survey.

Source: ChangeWave Research