From a post on GigaOM this morning:

(…) Nielsen said among recent acquirers of smartphones in the last six months through August, Android was the top platform in the U.S. with 32 percent of new purchases, followed by the iPhone and Research In Motion’s Blackberry platform, tied at about 25 percent.

When looking at overall market share, RIM remains on top with 31 percent, trailed by the iPhone at 28 percent and Android at 19 percent. But the race continues to tighten with RIM maintaining a slide from 37 percent in February. The iPhone has remained largely stable during that period, while Android market share is up from 8 percent in February.

What it means: as the GigaOM article says, “it’s hard to see how the Android momentum will subside.” I’ve started using an entry-level Android-powered tablet recently and I find it extremely useful. I’ll probably upgrade to an Archos 101 when it comes out in a couple of weeks. I’m  also getting “Android smart phone” envy and I’m tempted to buy a Samsung Galaxy. Expect Android to become the leading operating system for both smart phones and tablets within 12-18 months and make sure you’re building an application for that platform as well.