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Google Android’s share of the UK mobile phone contract market has soared over the last three months, rising more than 300% from the beginning of 2010, according to retail watcher GfK.

Android handsets now account for one out of every 10 contract sales in the UK, with their market share growing  by 10.2 percentage points from the first quarter of 2010 to the second quarter, accelerating from just 3% to 13.2%.

Gimme an Android

“The figures suggest an increasing number of consumers are now asking for Android handsets by name, “commented  GfK analyst Megan Baldock. “Operating systems are no longer simply a by-product but a key selling point in their own right.”

The growing popularity of Google Android devices has been driven by well-received, high end handsets like the HTC Desire, HTC Legend and Google’s own-brand Nexus One, with a fast-growing Android Market providing an attractive alternative to Apple’s App Store,

Samsung is also starting to push hard into the Android market, with their new flagship device, the Galaxy S serving up a 4in AMOLED touch-screen and five megapixel camera.

[Via]

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