After having caused a stir in May, reporting that Android handsets had for the first time outsold the iPhone in the 2010 first quarter, the NPD Group released its most recent statistics on Wednesday, revealing that the Android operating system had also surpassed market-leader Research in Motion’s BlackBerry to become the top-selling smartphone platform in the second quarter.

Going by the NPD data, Google’s Android OS accounted for nearly 33 percent of all the new smartphones purchased during the second quarter; as against the 28 percent market share of the BlackBerry OS, and 22 percent share of the Apple iOS.

The statistics reveal that BlackBerry, which a year back held 37 percent of the market, has been dethroned from the top position for the first time since 2007’s fourth quarter. 

The Android explosion largely results from the wide-ranging handset options available on the platform, with the most popular Android handsets being the Motorola Droid; the HTC Droid Incredible; the HTC EVO 4G; the HTC Droid Eris; and the HTC Hero.

Noting that the Android OS is steadily attracting new customers, Ross Rubin, NPD’s executive director of industry analysis, said: “For the second consecutive quarter, Android handsets have shown strong but slowing sell-through market share gains among U.S. consumers. While the Google-developed OS took market share from RIM, Apple's iOS saw a small gain this quarter on the strength of the iPhone 4 launch.”