If there was ever evidence of the power and draw of the Android OS software for buyers it has come in the form of cold hard stats. Analysing the sales of new smartphones the world over we can see that in the last quarter of 2011, Android was the OS for over half the smart phones sold.

It grabbed a whopping 50.9% market share, putting it far and away the largest operating system for smart phones on the marketplace. IOS, the operating system for iPhones, came 2nd with 23.8%, whilst Symbian managed just 11.7%.

This is bad news for Microsoft, who had big hopes for the Windows operated phones. These only managed to score a paltry 1.9% market share. They will be pinning a lot to the new Nokia Lumia range in the hopes of raising their presence in the market place.

The good news is that they are choosing the right brand. Nokia was the highest selling mobile smartphone brand of 2011, it’s 422 million phone sales equating to a 24% market share, with sales particularly high in the Indian subcontinent.

The Lure of the Google Android

So why is Android looking such a powerful platform compared to it’s competitors? The answer is of course in it’s ability to be accessed and tailored by everyone. Compared to the 2nd place iOS, which is exclusively for the iPhone, Android can be used by most 3rd party developers.

This puts it in range for any of the major phone brands that wish to develop and build on it. For example HTC take the Android software and build their own GUI system over the top of it, to provide users with (what they feel) a better user experience.

This control by companies also mean that it is worth producing over their own Operating Systems. They can get many of the same benefits of their own systems, only do so without the cost of development – which means they can pass savings on to their customers.

When this is coupled with the global reach of the Google name, which has done a masterful job of positioning the Android brand, you can see why people know the Android name, and why they look to have it included in their phones.

As the reach develops, of course, then more people come into contact with it. Once people have come to feel familiar with an operating system they are often loathe to leave it. This means that often people with an Android phone are likely to look for other Android powered phones to upgrade to.

Of course there are also advantages within the software, especially after the latest ‘ice cream sandwich’ update. But these have only come recently, whilst the growth of the Android powered mobile has been far more steady than a recent upswing based on one software update.

So with companies seeing the advantages of having Android powering their phones, and people recognising the brand, and being used to the software, so looking to buy phones with it already installed on them, you can see why the Google Android sales are going from strength to strength – and with discounts available to customers via an at&t promotional code, that is not going to end any time soon.