Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Monday:
Android Drifts Lower: A recent Millennial Media report suggests that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is beginning to gain on Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) in the smartphone market despite Android’s availability from multiple manufacturers. According to the report, Android still controls a 48% share, but Apple has increased to a 31% share of the market. Research In Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry phones continue to decline, controlling just 18% of the market. Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows platform and Nokia’s (NYSE:NOK) Symbian each control roughly 1%. Although it still trails Google in market penetration, Apple leads in revenue generated by mobile platform. Apps and media sold through Apple-based services account for 47% of all revenue generated through smartphones, compared to just 36% generated by Android.
At Your Service: The planned redesign of Apple’s community forums debuted on Saturday. The new Apple Support Communities mimic social networks in how they divide and present information. Different topics and the various Apple devices are separated into groups labeled as communities. The services invite users to customize personal profiles to use and contribute to the communities. For example, a MacBook Air user would create a profile listing the model of laptop they own. They would then be able to offer advice via the MacBook Air Community. The new service could ultimately help Apple develop a stronger presence as a social-networking entity even though the new community features are restricted to customer service inquiries.
Retailers Wait in Line, Too: A Friday post in The New York Times’ Bits blog demonstrates just how significant demand for the iPad 2 is more than a month after the tablet’s release. Writer Nick Bolton went to the Apple Store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood to purchase an iPad 2 and was told that, although the store was sold out, he should return the following morning to check on new stock. However, an employee told him that he’d need to get in line the night before, as non-Apple retailers were already lining up to buy iPads to sell in their own stores. Bolton also highlighted a number of Twitter posts claiming that similar lines form a day in advance at Apple’s other New York City locations.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.