iPhone Still Leads Smartphone Race

The race for the lead in smartphones remains very close, but Apple has a slight lead, according to the Nielsen Company.

When it comes to operating systems (OS) for smartphones, Apple's iPhone has 28.6 percent of the market, followed by the Research In Motion's (RIM) Blackberry OS at 26.1 percent and the Android OS at 25.8 percent.

On the move

Though it's currently in third place, Android has been quickly catching up. The Nielsen numbers show that the Android is the most popular OS among consumers who purchased a smartphone in the last six months, leading the field with a 40 percent marketshare.

But Apple's overall lead is all the more notable when you consider that it was achieved with one product -- the iPhone -- and with consumers on just one cellular network, AT&T.

RIM offers different Blackberry models on more than one carrier. The Android OS is used by Motorola, Samsung and several other manufacturers, meaning there is more product out there for consumers to buy.

Year of the smarthphone

The Nielsen numbers suggest 2010 was the year of the smartphone, with strong demand for the devices, especially late in the year. All three smartphone OS leaders -- Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry and Android -- are benefiting from strong demand for smartphones.

In November, 45 percent of recent acquirers chose a smartphone over a feature phone, used only for voice communications and texting.

While Android sales have momentum going into 2011, it remains to be seen what a long-anticipated iPhone for the Verizon network, the nation's largest, will mean for Apple sales. An analyst at Piper Jaffray says there's a 95 percent chance Apple will launch a Verizon iPhone in the next 12 months.