57 per cent of new smartphone buyers choose Android

Operator support and a vast app selection helps Google beat Apple.

As phone manufacturers and operating systems battle for supremacy, analyst NPD says first-time smartphone buyers prefer Android compared to iOS.  More than half chose the Google OS, compared to 34 per cent that elected iPhones.

Together the OSs accounted for over three-quarters of smartphones sold during Q4 2011, according to the report. Additionally, smartphones made up over 68 per cent of all mobile phones sold in the US during the same period, rising by 18 per cent year-on-year.

Ross Rubin, exec director of connected intelligence, NPD, said: "Android has been criticised for offering a more complex user experience than its competitors, but the company's wide carrier support and large app selection is appealing to new smartphone customers.

"Android's support of LTE at Verizon has also made it the exclusive choice for customers who want to take advantage of that carrier's fastest network."

However, those that chose iPhone 4S did so because of processing speeds, an improved camera and virtual assistant Siri, which helped become the best-selling device of the quarter, beating the iPhone 4 by 75 per cent.