Sure, Android is a brand new operating system at a seemingly huge disadvantage to other, more entrenched household names like Windows Mobile or Symbian. Well, all that could change -- at least according to research just released by Gartner, Inc. The company's report claims that Android could claim upwards of 14 percent of the global mobile operating system share by 2012 (it now has less than 2 percent). This would make it the number two (behind Symbian OS) phone OS in the world. The main factors behind this surge, according to Gartner's report, are the fact that Android is a Google-backed proposition, a company which will continue to offer more cloud-computing services and apps which will increasingly draw users into its web. They also note Android's "blend" of app heaviness (making it like the iPhone) combined with the task-mastering of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry smartphones. We'll let you know when Grandma Elly has a Sholes -- that's the real test of success and popularity in our world.

This table pretty much speaks for itself as a snapshot of the year in smartphones that was 2008 (according to Gartner) -- a breakout year for the category particularly in the US. As you'd expect from the smartphone device tallies we saw yesterday, RIM and Apple have the momentum largely at the expense of Symbian's declining market share and the stagnation of Windows Mobile in an otherwise growing market segment. Palm's also a bit of a surprise showing 42.2% growth for the year. With any luck, Palm could turn this table upside down in 2009 with a successful global launch of WebOS. Regardless, you can bet that developers are paying particularly close attention to these numbers as they decide where to best align their resources for maximum financial gain.

Yo, Microsoft, step on the gas and get Windows Mobile 7 out the door, would ya? Gartner's profile of global smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2008 reveals that RIM's BlackBerry OS has jumped over Windows Mobile to become the number two platform finding its way into pockets around the world, while perennial powerhouse Symbian carries on comfortably with the number one spot (and it's not UIQ that's doing the heavy lifting there, if you catch our drift). As a percentage of the overall mobile market, smartphones account for the same 11 percent they did a year ago -- but the entire market saw growth, meaning that total smartphone shipments jumped a solid 15.7 percent over the same period. Well-earned kudos to RIM for knocking WinMo off its high horse, but seriously, Microsoft need only look in the mirror if it wants to know exactly how this came to pass.

[Via jkOnTheRun]