iPads surging in enterprise, Android not gaining ground

Good Technology in a new study (PDF) showed the iPad quickly becoming one of the most popular devices activated in the enterprise outside of the BlackBerry. Apple's tablet shot up from 14 percent in October to about 22 percent in December, putting it only just behind the iPhone 4 as the most popular. The rise was helped by a surge in interest from banks, whose interest spiked up to 40 percent.

Along with fellow core drivers health care and law, the interest was primarily motivated by security, where Good argued its platform combined with the iPad helped land deals.

The surge helped keep Android from gaining any ground. iOS as a whole marked almost 70 percent of the activations tracked, a slight gain across the fall, while Android stayed flat at just over 30 percent. Google's platform was primarily diluted. Android's top devices were spread across seven models and saw the leaders, the Droid X and Droid 2, taper off. Apart from the Droid 2 Global, other Android devices like the HTC Evo 4G or Samsung's Galaxy S variants were virtually flat. Android's share included a "very long tail" of devices that had insignificant share, Good said, including tablets.

The end of 2010 also marked a symbolic end of an era at Good as both Symbian and Windows Mobile, once its main platforms, both dropped out of the top 10 device lists and were virtually non-existent as a whole. Good couldn't track Windows Phone 7 as Microsoft's new OS didn't have the programming support that Apple and Google already have. WP7 might not catch up until Mango, an update due in the summer or later.

In spite of the gap, Good noted that iOS and Android were increasingly being supported side-by-side; over 60 percent supported both, and 27 percent supported a third platform. Without the BlackBerry, its demographics also weren't a complete reflection of the business smartphone market, where RIM still has a majority stake. The study nonetheless showed that many companies not committed to the BlackBerry were turning to iOS first for work and that Android was often secondary.