Google Android dominated the global smartphone market in 2014, holding an 81.5 percent market share, with Apple's iOS second and no strong third player, market tracker IDC said Tuesday. Despite Apple's late surge on its newly released iPhones, the California giant saw its market share for the year drop slightly to 14.8 percent. The fourth quarter was better for Apple as it claimed 19.7 percent, IDC data showed. With Android and iOS holding some 96 percent of the market, there has been little progress from alternative platforms, with Windows Phone losing momentum and BlackBerry nearly disappearing, IDC said.



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