iPhone 4, iPad, Android leap in business adoption

Data from Good's customer deployments show the Droid X and Droid 2 models were the Android OS's big hits

Apple's iOS and Google's Android OS dominate the new non-BlackBerry installations in enterprises across the globe between July and September 2010, according to Good Technology's tally of what the mobility management vendor's customers are deploying. Good's mobile management tool is typically deployed in large businesses and government agencies, and so is a good proxy for overall enterprise adoption patterns. But it does not support RIM's BlackBerry or Hewlett-Packard's WebOS, so Good's results do not include data on those platforms' activations.

Within two months of its launch, the Apple iPhone 4, became the most frequently activated device among Good’s enterprise customers. The Apple iPad also leaped into Good’s Top 5 devices list that quarter, showing that enterprises and their users are already adopting tablets for business. But it's not all about Apple: Android device activations continue to grow rapidly as more new devices come to market, with the

Droid X by Motorola as the most frequently activated Android device in September, Good reported today.

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Over a broader period, from May 1 through September 30, Good saw the following trends in new-user activations at its customer sites:

  • Of iPad users, 70 percent did not previously have smartphones activated, indicating that most iPad users were not traditional smartphone users, at least not at work.
  • iOS devices represented more than 50 percent of net new activations.
  • Android devices represented nearly 30 percent.
  • Windows Mobile devices represented 15 percent.
  • Symbian devices represented less than 5 percent.

For specific devices, Good has found that the top 10 devices ranked as follows: The iOS-based iPhone 4 accounted for about 35 percent of new activations in the third quarter, the iOS-based iPhone 3G S for about 17 percent, the iOS-based iPad for about 10 percent, the Android-based Motorola Droid X for about 7 percent, the iOS-based iPhone 3G for about 6 percent, the Windows Mobile-based HTC Cedar for about 5 percent, the Windows Mobile-based Samsung i637 for about 5 pecent, the Android-based HTC Droid Incredible for about 5 percent, and the Android-based Motorola Droid 2 for about 2 percent.

But looking at just the month of September, the data shows the fast rise of several new devices: The Droid X rose from 6 percent in July to 11 percent in September and the Droid 2 had 5 percent of new activations in its first month (September) of availability. iPhone 3G S activations fell from 20 to 15 percent between July and September, while the iPhone 4 rose from 27 to 32 percent. The other devices' percentages were farly level during that period.

This article, "iPhone, iPad, Android leap in business adoption," originally appeared at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in mobile technology with InfoWorld's Mobilize newsletter and Mobile Edge blog.

Copyright © 2010 IDG Communications, Inc.

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