The statistics are on the side of Android, according to data from a growing number of research firms. A new survey from Nielsen reveals that Android is now the most popular operating system among people who bought a smartphone in the past six months, while Blackberry RIM and Apple iOS are in a statistical dead heat for second place among recent acquirers.

An astonishing 32 percent of the market was held by Android, followed by 26 percent for the BlackBerry, and 25 percent for the iPhone. The other 17 percent went to other phones and operating systems.The figures for August show a surge in Android sales, compared to July when it held 28 percent of the market. Growth between April and July was minimal, only a percent or two. However, January to April growth was staggering, increasing from 14 percent to 26 percent due to the launch of a wide range of new Android phones.

Among all smartphone owners, Blackberry still holds the dominant share with 31 percent of the market, though its lead over Apple is declining. Twenty-eight percent of smartphone owners have Apple iPhones, compared to 19 percent who have Android devices.

In the meantime, data from Gartner indicates that the worldwide mobile operating system market will be dominated by Symbian and Android, as the two OSs will account for 59.8 percent of mobile OS sales by 2014.

And a new survey from ChangeWave Research highlights a surge in Android momentum among smartphone enthusiasts. According to the research institute, Google’s Android has significantly impacted Apple’s dominance of consumer mindshare in the smartphone world.

ChangeWave found only 38 percent of the people it interviewed want Apple’s iOS on their next smartphone. That’s down 12 points from June when 50 percent of respondents said they wanted an iPhone. Meanwhile, 37 percent of survey participants said they want an Android-based phone.