The world’s leading smartphone maker once commanded 47 percent of the market. Now in a major strategy shift, Nokia is developing a phone that runs Android as its share dips below one third.

Nokia still makes roughly 4 out of every 10 phones sold globally. However its market share in terms of smartphones has been falling in recent years to devices such as the Blackberry and iPhone.

Now Nokia is rumored to be introducing an Android-based mobile phone at the Nokia World conference in September. This is a radical departure from Nokia’s strategy as the leading maker of Symbian-based phones.

Last year Nokia bought out its partners to make Symbian a free and more open mobile phone operating system. While the move was applauded as a victory for open software, it has failed to help Symbian gain momentum in the marketplace.

The move to release a Nokia phone that runs Android is a distant cry from last year’s serious run at the Symbian OS. However the newer Android operating system developed by Google is already making a buzz in its first year.

Already new vendors and application developers are glomming onto Android as the next big thing. All told, Google expects to see as many as 18 Android devices come to market in 2009.

There’s no word yet on when this unnamed Android device from Nokia will be released. However the device will almost certainly draw from the Android Marketplace, which has attracted thousands of developers that release applications for Android phones.

Many smartphone fans are likely to be pleasantly surprised by Nokia’s move to support Android. Some users have already hacked Nokia’s N810 tablet to make it run Android.

There’s no telling whether the shift to Android will become a larger and more permanent one in years to come. However the market’s resounding support for Android as the new leading open mobile phone operating system in becoming quite clear.

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Entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 9:43 am under Cell phones, Technology.

Read more entries by Dave Jeyes.
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