In Apple‘s ongoing case against Samsung, all kinds of interesting peripheral information is emerging. One of the most fascinating is a 2010 survey that shows the top reason for consumers going with an Android phone rather than an iPhone was carrier loyalty.

With the survey indicating that 25 percent of overall Android buyers at the time had considered an iPhone, the numbers gives us a real look at just how much the iPhone’s AT&T exclusivity may have hurt it while Android — and Verizon’s Droid brand — surged in the US.

43% Wanted to stay with current provider
36% Trusted Google brand
30% Preferred larger screen
27% Preferred Android Market
26% Wanted better Google services intergration
25% Wanted latest and greatest smartphone
25% Wanted turn-by-turn GPS
25% Wanted latest and greatest technology

{The Verge}

Research firm IDC put Android’s global marketshare at 68% in Q2 of this year, dwarfing Apple’s 17%.

More specifically, IDC pegged Android’s gain “directly” to Samsung, which represented 44% of all Android phones shipped during the quarter. That’s more than the next seven Android vendors combined, IDC said. {CNNMoney}

The iPhone is, of course, now available on 3 out of the 4 major US mobile carriers (T-Mobile being the lone network to not offer an iPhone), and Apple’s strategy of offering older versions to compete with lower priced Android phones could help in carving out a larger slice of the market.