January 2012 US mobile subscriber market share
The study surveyed more than 30 000 US mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.4% market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the smartphone market, accounting for 48.6% of smartphone subscribers.
OEM market share
For the three-month average period ending in January, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.4% of US mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 19.7% share and Motorola with 13.2% share. Apple continued to capture share in the OEM market with 12.8% of total mobile subscribers (up 2.0 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 6.6%.
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2011 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Oct-11 | Jan-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Samsung | 25.5% | 25.4% | -0.1 |
| LG | 20.6% | 19.7% | -0.9 |
| Motorola | 13.6% | 13.2% | -0.4 |
| Apple | 10.8% | 12.8% | 2.0 |
| RIM | 6.6% | 6.6% | 0.0 |
Smartphone platform market share
The number of US smartphone subscribers surpassed the 100-million mark in January, up 13% since October to 101.3 million subscribers. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 48.6% market share (up 2.3 percentage points) followed by Apple with 29.5% market share (up 1.4 percentage points). RIM ranked third with 15.2% share, followed by Microsoft (4.4%) and Symbian (1.5%).
| Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2011 Total US Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers | |||
| Oct-11 | Jan-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| 46.3% | 48.6% | 2.3 | |
| Apple | 28.1% | 29.5% | 1.4 |
| RIM | 17.2% | 15.2% | -2.0 |
| Microsoft | 5.4% | 4.4% | -1.0 |
| Symbian | 1.6% | 1.5% | -0.1 |
Mobile content usage
In January, 74.6% of US mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 2.8 percentage points. Downloaded applications were used by 48.6% of subscribers (up 4.8 percentage points), while browsers were used by 48.5% (up 4.5 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 3.4 percentage points to 35.7% of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 31.8% of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points), while 24.5% listened to music on their phones (up 3.3 percentage points).
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2011 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Oct-11 | Jan-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 71.8% | 74.6% | 2.8 |
| Used downloaded apps | 43.8% | 48.6% | 4.8 |
| Used browser | 44.0% | 48.5% | 4.5 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 32.3% | 35.7% | 3.4 |
| Played Games | 29.2% | 31.8% | 2.6 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 21.2% | 24.5% | 3.3 |
About MobiLens
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.