The study surveyed more than 30 000 US mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.6% market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the US smartphone market, crossing the 50-percent threshold in February to capture a majority share for the first time in its history.
For the three-month average period ending in February, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.6% of US mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 19.4% share. Apple captured the #3 ranking in February with 13.5% of mobile subscribers (up 2.3 percentage points), followed by Motorola at 12.8%. HTC moved into the #5 position in February at 6.3% (up 0.4 percentage points).
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2011 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Nov-11 | Feb-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Samsung | 25.6% | 25.6% | 0.0 |
| LG | 20.5% | 19.4% | -1.1 |
| Apple | 11.2% | 13.5% | 2.3 |
| Motorola | 13.7% | 12.8% | -0.9 |
| HTC | 5.9% | 6.3% | 0.4 |
More than 104 million people in the US owned smartphones during the three months ending in February, up 14% versus November. Google Android's share of the smartphone market eclipsed 50% in February, an increase of 17 percentage points since February 2011. Apple ranked second with 30.2% of the smartphone market (up 5 percentage points versus year ago), followed by RIM at 13.4%, Microsoft at 3.9% and Symbian at 1.5%.
| Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2011 Total US Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers | |||
| Nov-11 | Feb-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| 46.9% | 50.1% | 3.2 | |
| Apple | 28.7% | 30.2% | 1.5 |
| RIM | 16.6% | 13.4% | -3.2 |
| Microsoft | 5.2% | 3.9% | -1.3 |
| Symbian | 1.5% | 1.5% | 0.0 |
In February, 74.8% of US mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 2.2 percentage points. Downloaded applications were used by 49.5% of subscribers (up 4.6 percentage points), while browsers were used by 49.2% (up 4.8 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 3.1 percentage points to 36.1% of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 32.3% of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points), while 24.8% listened to music on their phones (up 3.1 percentage points).
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Nov. 2011 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Nov-11 | Feb-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 72.6% | 74.8% | 2.2 |
| Used downloaded apps | 44.9% | 49.5% | 4.6 |
| Used browser | 44.4% | 49.2% | 4.8 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 33.0% | 36.1% | 3.1 |
| Played Games | 29.7% | 32.3% | 2.6 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 21.7% | 24.8% | 3.1 |
MobiLens data is derived from an intelligent online survey of a nationally representative sample of mobile subscribers age 13 and older. Data on mobile phone usage refers to a respondent's primary mobile phone and does not include data related to a respondent's secondary device.
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