March 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 26.0% market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the US smartphone market, accounting for 51% of smartphone subscribers, while Apple captured more than 30%.
OEM market share
For the three-month average period ending in March, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 26.0% of US mobile subscribers (up 0.7 percentage points), followed by LG with 19.3% share. Apple continued to gain share in the OEM market, ranking third with 14.0% of mobile subscribers (up 1.6 percentage points), followed by Motorola with 12.8% and HTC with 6.0%.
| Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2011 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Dec-11 | Mar-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Samsung | 25.3% | 26.0% | 0.7 |
| LG | 20.0% | 19.3% | -0.7 |
| Apple | 12.4% | 14.0% | 1.6 |
| Motorola | 13.3% | 12.8% | -0.5 |
| HTC | 6.2% | 6.0% | -0.2 |
Smartphone platform market share
More than 106 million people in the US owned smartphones during the three months ending in March, up 9% versus December. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 51% market share (up 3.7 percentage points). Apple's share of the smartphone market increased 1.1 percentage points to 30.7%. RIM ranked third with 12.3% share, followed by Microsoft (3.9%) and Symbian (1.4%).
| Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2011 Total US Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers | |||
| Dec-11 | Mar-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| 47.3% | 51.0% | 3.7 | |
| Apple | 29.6% | 30.7% | 1.1 |
| RIM | 16.0% | 12.3% | -3.7 |
| Microsoft | 4.7% | 3.9% | -0.8 |
| Symbian | 1.4% | 1.4% | 0.0 |
Mobile content usage
In March, 74.3% of US mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Downloaded applications were used by 50% of subscribers (up 2.4 percentage points), while browsers were used by 49.3% (up 1.8 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.8 percentage points to 36.1% of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 32.6% of the mobile audience (up 1.2 percentage points), while 25.3% listened to music on their phones (up 1.5 percentage points).
| Mobile Content Usage 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2011 Total US Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ (Source: comScore MobiLens) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers | |||
| Dec-11 | Mar-12 | Point Change | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
| Sent text message to another phone | 74.3% | 74.3% | 0.0 |
| Used downloaded apps | 47.6% | 50.0% | 2.4 |
| Used browser | 47.5% | 49.3% | 1.8 |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 35.3% | 36.1% | 0.8 |
| Played Games | 31.4% | 32.6% | 1.2 |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 23.8% | 25.3% | 1.5 |