Apple beats Google in US smartphone market

Apple overtook Google’s Android to become the leading smartphone platform in the US in the fourth quarter of 2011, thanks to strong demand for its latest iPhone model, a study said Wednesday. The tech giant led by chief executive Tim Cook reported a rise in net profit at $13.1 billion in the October-December quarter against $6 billion in the year-ago period.

Apple overtook Google’s Android to become the leading smartphone platform in the US in the fourth quarter of 2011, thanks to strong demand for its latest iPhone model, a study said Wednesday. The tech giant led by chief executive Tim Cook reported a rise in net profit at $13.1 billion in the October-December quarter against $6 billion in the year-ago period.

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In October-December quarter last year, Apple’s share of the US smartphone market doubled from a year earlier to 44.9%, while Android’s share fell from 50% to 44.8% in the same period, market research firm Kantar Worldpanel has said.

While Android retains global smartphone crown, Apple is now growing at a faster rate, researchers said.