Apple Inc has competition on its hands: Google Inc. Latest research shows that smartphones with Google's Android operating system knocked the iPhone out of second place in the first quarter of this year, according to the NPD Group. Google now accounts for 28 per cent of US smartphone sales behind the Blackberry phone, which has a 36 per cent share of the market. Smartphones allow users to surf the web, send email and run applications on wide, colour screens. These hand-held devices have become the prime battleground for many technology companies seeking to ensure a good position in the evolving phone market.