Android topples iPhone as Tesco’s top seller

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Sales of Android-based mobile phones have surpassed those of the iPhone for the first time at supermarket giant Tesco.

The figures were confirmed by Tesco Mobile – the joint venture between Tesco and O2 – which claimed the beginning of 2011 had seen a massive rise in sales of the Google mobile operating system in its stores.

Before Christmas, Apple’s flagship smartphone was outselling Android-based handsets by two to one. However, figures from the start of 2011 showed a surge in the underdog’s sales, making the rivals even in January.

Figures from February paint a different picture and show Android's sharp rise to the top.

“These sales are a useful barometer for smartphone trends,” said Graham Harris, chief executive of Tesco Mobile. “There is a lot of choice in the market and as a result consumers are driving healthy competition between rival operating systems.”

Tesco's findings are in line with research released earlier this week by analyst firm IDC, which showed Android shipment volumes had exploded globally - by 1,580 per cent year-on-year.

“The Western European mobile phone market will be dominated by smartphones, and Android will be the king of the hill," said Francisco Jeronimo, IDC's European mobile devices research manager.

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