According to The NPD Group, a market research company, Google’s Android smartphone OS pushed past Apple to claim second place among smartphone operating systems.  Here’s the official standings for Q1 2010: #1-RIM (36%), #2- Android OS (28 %), #3- iPhone OS (21%).  Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD, shares the reasoning behind the shift in dominance: “As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share.  In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.”  And how do the popular US carriers size up, you ask?  #1- AT&T (32%), #2- Verizon Wireless (30%), T-Mobile (17%), Sprint (15%).  With the recent HP-Palm aquisition and iPhone OS 4, BlackBerry 6, and Windows Phone 7 mobile OS previews, the smartphone market is asking for a healthy shakeup.  As a customer and gadget enthusiast, I say bring it on.

[Via NPD]