Google’s Android is quickly outdistancing its rivals in the race to become the most popular mobile operating system, figures released by research firm Nielsen claims.

Nielsen surveyed a total of 14,701 Americans, and found 29 per cent of them owning an Android-based handset. The figure outshined iOS and RIM devices, each of which accounted for 27 per cent.

Microsoft Windows-based family of devices accounted for 10 per cent market share, while PalmOS and Symbian claimed merely 4 per cent and 2 per cent of the mobile operating system market in the country.

A different study by ComScore also claims Android’s dominance in the market. According to ComScore, Android grabbed number 1 spot in the US smartphone market, with 31.2 per cent of the market share. The second and third spots were grabbed by RIM and Apple which accounted for 30.4 and 24.7 per cent market share.

However, it should be noted here that Android is available for a broad range of devices, while Apple’s iOS and RIM’s BlackBerry are available only for companies’ own smartphones.

If we take sales figures into account, Apple and RIM dominate the smartphone market.