Android has surged past Symbian to become the world's most popular smartphone operating system.

So show Q4 2010 figures from market watcher Canalys, released today, which give Google a 32.9 per cent market share ahead of Nokia, which took 30.6 per cent of the market.

Apple took 16 per cent of the market, Research in Motion (Rim) 14.4 per cent.

Microsoft managed to take a 3.1 per cent market share during the quarter.

That marks a year-on-year plunge from the 7.2 per cent it took in Q4 2009. Google, by contrast, saw is share leap from 8.7 per cent in the same period.

Nokia plunged from 44.4 per cent, while RIM slid from 20 per cent and Apple was down on the 16.3 per cent share it achieved in Q4 2009.

Fans of these firms' offerings needn't worry: the world boom in smartphones during 2010 means that reduced market share was more than compensated for by large increases in the number of handsets shipped. ®

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