Samsung and Google's Android OS continue to hold the lead in the U.S. mobile market, digital business analytics firm comScore announced.
The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.9 percent market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the U.S. smartphone market, accounting for 50.8 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Apple captured 31.4 percent.
Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens |
| |
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers |
| Jan-12 |
Apr-12 |
Point Change |
| Total Mobile Subscribers |
100.0% |
100.0% |
N/A |
| Samsung |
25.4% |
25.9% |
0.5 |
| LG |
19.7% |
19.2% |
-0.5 |
| Apple |
12.8% |
14.4% |
1.6 |
| Motorola |
13.2% |
12.5% |
-0.7 |
| HTC |
6.4% |
6.0% |
-0.4 |
For the three-month average period ending in April, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.5 percentage points), followed by LG with 19.2 percent share. Apple continued to grow its share in the OEM market, ranking third with 14.4 percent (up 1.6 percentage points), followed by Motorola with 12.5 percent and HTC with 6.0 percent.
Top Smartphone Platforms
3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012
Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens |
| |
Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers |
| Jan-12 |
Apr-12 |
Point Change |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers |
100.0% |
100.0% |
N/A |
| Google |
48.6% |
50.8% |
2.2 |
| Apple |
29.5% |
31.4% |
1.9 |
| RIM |
15.2% |
11.6% |
-3.6 |
| Microsoft |
4.4% |
4.0% |
-0.4 |
| Symbian |
1.5% |
1.3% |
-0.2 |
More than 107 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in April, up 6 percent versus January. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 50.8 percent market share (up 2.2 percentage points). Apple's share of the smartphone market increased 1.9 percentage points to 31.4 percent. RIM ranked third with 11.6 percent share, followed by Microsoft (4.0 percent) and Symbian (1.3 percent).
Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens |
| |
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers |
| Jan-12 |
Apr-12 |
Point Change |
| Total Mobile Subscribers |
100.0% |
100.0% |
N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone |
74.6% |
74.1% |
-0.5 |
| Used downloaded apps |
48.6% |
50.2% |
1.6 |
| Used browser |
48.5% |
49.0% |
0.5 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog |
35.7% |
36.0% |
0.3 |
| Played Games |
31.8% |
33.1% |
1.3 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone |
24.5% |
25.8% |
1.3 |
In April, 74.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Downloaded applications were used by 50.2 percent of subscribers (up 1.6 percentage points), while browsers were used by 49.0 percent (up 0.5 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.3 percentage points to 36.0 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 33.1 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.3 percentage points), while 25.8 percent listened to music on their phones (up 1.3 percentage points).