Together with Apple’s iOS, Android has helped to redefine expectations with regard to user interaction and functionality in the smartphone space. The widespread success of Android and iOS are among the major factors contributing to changes in OS strategy on the part of traditional market leaders Nokia (a shift from Symbian to Windows Phone) and Research In Motion (acquisition of QNX Software Systems and shift to a QNX-based platform). Furthermore, the ubiquity of smartphones has begun to impact UI expectations in other devices classes, with interest in utilizing Android to serve these requirements continually mounting.
But while interest in Android beyond smartphones (and tablets) has been widespread, actual deployments of other types of Android-based devices have remained somewhat scarce.
So where exactly are we today with regard to Android’s penetration in other areas?
According to our recently published report Android in the Embedded Systems Market, less than 5% of all Android-based unit shipments in 2011 were products other than smartphones, tablets, and eReaders. Among those device classes included within these estimates are military communication devices, medical devices, and connected car systems.