By Dan Butcher
March 8, 2011
Android in space
Google’s Android operating system took the lead among smartphone platforms with 31.2 percent market share after two short months in second place, according to data from comScore Inc.’s MobiLens.
The comScore report focused on key trends in the United States mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending January 2011. The study, for which comScore surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers, found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.9 percent market share.
“These trends confirm the rapid rise of Android,” said Olivier Griot, principal of Blue Rain Media, Boston. “Apple had been maintaining share despite the large quantity of Android devices launched in the market.
“It will be interesting to see how the numbers evolve in the next three months, in particular the impact of the iPhone launch on Verizon,” he said.
“For publishers, the good news is the continuing rise in the number of people who browse the Web or use apps on their mobile devices.”
ComScore specializes in measuring the digital world and is a source of digital business analytics.
OEM market share
For the three month average period ending in January, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices.
For the three month average period ending in January, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices.
Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top original equipment manufacturer with 24.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, up 0.7 percentage points from the three-month period ending in October.
LG ranked second with 20.8 percent share, followed by Motorola (16.5 percent), Research In Motion (8.6 percent) and Apple (7.0 percent).
Smartphone platform market share
According to comScore, 65.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in January 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period.
According to comScore, 65.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in January 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period.
Google’s Android captured the No. 1 ranking among smartphone platforms for the first time in January with 31.2 percent market share.
RIM’s BlackBerry ranked second with 30.4 percent market share, followed by Apple’s iOS with 24.7 percent.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 with 8 percent and HP’s Palm webOS with 3.2 percent rounded out the top five.
Mobile content usage
In January, 68.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, while browsers were used by 37.0 percent of subscribers—up 0.8 percentage points.
In January, 68.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, while browsers were used by 37.0 percent of subscribers—up 0.8 percentage points.
Subscribers who used downloaded applications comprised 35.3 percent of the mobile audience, representing an increase of 1.6 percentage points.
Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 1.1 percentage points, representing 25.3 percent of mobile subscribers.
Playing games represented 23.7 percent of the mobile audience, while listening to music represented 16.5 percent—up 1.1 percentage points.
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