Android vs. iPhone and iPad by the numbers

Computerworld - It looks increasingly like Android will be the major challenger to both Apple's iPhone and iPad.

In the tablet market, Apple's iOS has a commanding lead, while Android is the only other OS that registers a market share in double digits. In the smartphone arena, there are other significant competitors, such as BlackBerry and Windows. However, BlackBerry market share is dropping, according to comScore's latest survey -- in fact, Apple surpassed RIM in comScore's April report -- while Microsoft has yet to make much of a dent.

How do Apple's iOS and Google's Android stack up head to head? We look at the numbers.

Tablet market share

Source: Gartner

The iPad held a commanding 83.9% of the worldwide tablet market last year, with Android tablets far behind at 14.2%, according to Gartner. Other stats show a similar healthy lead. For example, a recent Modelmetrics Web survey found 83% of respondents planning to roll out iPads in the enterprise and 34% with plans for Android tablets.

However, Gartner expects the market-share difference to narrow considerably over the next few years, with iOS holding 47.1% by 2015 and Android growing to 38.6%.

Bottom line: iOS should remain the market leader for the next few years, but Android is expected to grow considerably -- largely at Apple's expense.

Smartphone market share

Source: comScore MobiLens 3-month average of US smartphone subscribers.

Despite its reputation as a groundbreaking smartphone when first introduced in 2007, the iPhone doesn't have the market clout of the iPad. Apple has slightly more than a quarter of the U.S. smartphone market, according to a comScore MobiLens report, but IDC estimates just 15.7% of the global pie .

And some analysts expect the iPhone to slip worldwide in the coming years as both Android and Windows Phone gain traction. IDC predicts that Windows Phone will be the No. 2 OS behind Android worldwide by 2015, with iOS in third place.