Apple sitting as top mobile maker, but no. 2 in OS presence

Apple is the top mobile manufacturer, but faces a growing threat from HTC, January data from Millennial Media suggests. The mobile advertiser notes that Apple grew 24 percent month-over-month to sit at a 26.07 percent share. HTC settled for second place, but did so by rising 36 percent to achieve 20.98 percent. Also in the top five were Samsung, Research in Motion and Motorola.

HTC's gains are attributed to it having many of the top 30 mobile devices, such as the G2 Touch Hero, the Evo, the Aria and the Droid Incredible. Apple's iPhone was the top device at 15.37 percent, followed by the iPod touch at 8.08 percent, and HTC's Nexus One at 7.8. The Touch's positioning is said to be significant, as the media player had to reclaim second place. The iPad came in sixth, below RIM's BlackBerry Curve and the G2 Touch Hero.

In terms of smartphone platforms iOS ranked a distant second to Android, taking a mere 28 percent share versus 54. RIM's BlackBerry OS claimed third with 14 percent, while Symbian and Windows scored just 1 percent each. Symbian was the dominant global platform for all phone types at 31 percent; iOS was second at 24 percent, trailed by BlackBerry at 17 and Android at 13. 

Millennial remarks that Apple requests jumped 47 percent month-over-month, driven in part by iPad requests scaling 43 percent. Android and Symbian requests were up 32 and 24 percent, respectively. RIM requests are said to have stayed "relatively flat."