Android phones now beginning to outsell iPhone

It may have been relatively slow out of the blocks, but smartphones running Google‘s Android OS outsold the iPhone for the first time ever during the first quarter of 2010, a new report by the NPD shows.

During the first four months of 2010, 28% of smartphone sales were of handsets carrying the Android operating system, with the iPhone trailing behind with 21%. BlackBerry handsets fared best of all, with phones featuring RIM‘s OS making up 36% of the market.

So what’s causing this surge in Android sales? Well choice certainly helps – there are plenty of manufacturers now churning out Android devices, while the launch of the critically acclaimed HTC Droid Incredible probably helped too. It’s been a while though since the iPhone line got a refresh, so it’ll be interesting to see if these figures change come the launch of the iPhone 4G later this year.

There’s still a long way to go however if Google’s Android OS is to overtake the iPhone overall. Worldwide, iPhone still has an overall market share of 46 percent, compared to Android’s 25 percent.