Just over 10 years ago, Android was

Just over 10 years ago, Android was born into this world out of the minds of Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White, who collective envisioned building an advanced operating system for digital cameras. Google had different plans for Android after acquiring the OS in 2005, and on October 22, 2008, the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1) launched as the first Android smartphone for consumers. It wouldn't be the last.
Now a little over five years later since the HTC Dream first hit retail, Android is now the dominant mobile platform around the globe. According to the latest data compiled by Canalys, Android came installed on 79 percent of the nearly 1 billion smartphones shipped around the world in 2013. That's up from 68 percent in 2012, Canalys says.
While Android keeps climbing, Apple's share of the market via iOS fell from 20 percent to 15 percent even though its device shipments increased to 154 million units in 2013. Not that Apple is doing poorly by any stretch -- it sold a personal best 51 million iPhone devices during its first fiscal quarter -- but going up against all the Android manufacturers is an impossible task.
As for Microsoft, its Windows Phone platform jumped a percentage point to 3 percent thanks to its shipments of smartphones jumping up 90 percent to 32.1 million units. The bulk of these belonged to Nokia and its Lumia line of handsets.