Look Out Android: iPhone 4S New Smart King?

Apple’s iPhone could be heading to the top smartphone spot, after a period at No.2.

Is this the new high king of mobile?

Android days on top could be numbered according to Nielsen, who say the launch of iPhone 4S boosted Apple’s share of the mobile market by almost 20% in the US.

“The high-profile launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S in the Fall had an enormous impact on the proportion of smartphone owners who chose an Apple iPhone,” according to Nielsen’s blog.

Of those who recently bought a new smartphone (within the previous three months) 44.5% said they chose an iPhone over other OS, marking almost 20% jump on October’s figure.

And it looks like the new 4S, complete with Siri, iOS 5 and the dual-core A5 processor, has won out over the iPhone 4, with almost 60% of new iPhone owners surveyed saying they chose the newer model.

And Android’s share actually dipped in Q4 last year among “recent” buyers – from 61.6% to just over 46% – a worry fall for Droid brands including Samsung, HTC and Nokia.

However, the green man continues to hold the lead overall, with close to half (46.3%) of all smartphone owners surveyed in Q4 having purchased an Android mobile during the period, Nielsen noted.

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Image: Nielsen

Apple’s trouble last quarter (Q3) was the lack of any new smartphone launch, while this appears to be Android’s problem this time round.

Droid’s biggest brand, Samsung, haven’t released any major phone since flagship S II in April, although has some new party tricks in the form of the Galaxy Note and S III up its sleeve for 2012.

The Galaxy Nexus was relased just prior to Christmas, thus too late to make an impact on Q4 sales.

The iPhone 4S went on sale in Australia on October 14 last and most retailers here, including Telstra sold out completely on its first weekend.

Apple said it sold 4 million on its first weekend of sale alone globally.

Cupertino is set to release its sales number for iPhone 4S on Tuesday next, incidentally, the same day as the HTC Velocity 4G goes on sale here.

Analysts predict we could see as anything between 30-32 million smartphone sales for Apple.

Read Apple To Smash ‘All Records’ (& Send Samsung Flying)? Here