Analyst: Here’s Why Apple’s iOS is a Winner

In a report released last week, research firm Gartner said Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android was strengthening its hold on the smartphone operating system market, growing to a 70 percent share in the last quarter of 2012 from 87.8 percent in the same quarter of 2011. Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS, meanwhile, declined slightly from 23.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 to take a 21 percent share of the market, the report said.

However, while the numbers showed an overpowering Android dominance, Apple’s iOS had a lot of things going in its favor, according to Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt. McCourt wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday that Apple continued to hold several advantages against Android when it came to services and content related to the software.

“Although the unit stats are staggeringly in Android’s favor, we believe app monetization and app developer resources continue to dramatically favor Apple,” the analyst wrote, according to Barron’s. “Essentially, there are parts of the world where a smartphone is simply a touch screen with an effective web browser, and in those parts of the world, Android is dominating. In the parts of the world where a smartphone ecosystem matters, it is a much more even match between Android and iOS.”

Overall, the Gartner data clearly indicated the ongoing shift from traditional mobile phones to smartphones, McCourt added…