The Popularity of Every Smartphone OS, Visualized

It's easy to throw numbers around about the relatively popularity here in the US of Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and so on. But it's not until you see the comparison laid bare in bold, blocky colors like this that you get a real feel for the playing field.

This visualization from Nielsen shows just how bottlenecked Apple, iOS, and RIM are at the top. Maybe more importantly, it's a stark reminder that Apple and RIM totally own their ecosystems, while between HTC Sense, Motorola Blur, and Samsung Galaxy's takes on Android, the leader could easily be viewed—in terms of actual day to day experience—as a few different platforms lumped together.

Also: poor Symbian. Looks like we really did hardly know ye. [Nielsen Wire via Engadget]