Android

comScore: Android Closing In, Samsung Remains Top OEM, SMS Top Mobile Content

ComScore today released new data on key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry as seen during Q3 2010.  The report ranked the leading mobile OEMs and smartphone OS platforms in the U.S. according to their share of current mobile subscribers ages 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular mobile content usage across all demographics.

As of September, comScore indicates there are roughly 234 million Americans ages 13 and older using mobile phones.  Surprisingly, Samsung holds on to the top spot in terms of OEM device manufacturers in the US with a 23.5 percent share.  LG ranked second with 21.1 percent share, followed by Motorola (18.4 percent share), RIM (9.3 percent share, up 0.5 percentage points) and Nokia (7.4 percent share).

In regards to the all-important share for smartphone platforms in the U.S., RIM still holds the number one spot with a 37.3 percent share of smartphone subscribers, followed by Apple with a 24.3 percent share.  Google continues to gain ground in the market, rising 6.5 percentage points to capture 21.4 percent of smartphone subscribers.  Microsoft accounted for 10 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.2 percent.  Despite losing share to Android, most smartphone platforms continue to gain subscribers as the smartphone market overall continues to grow.  In total, 58.7 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in September, up 15 percent from the preceding three month period.

Most interesting was mobile content usage, with comScore indicating that SMS is still by far the most popular activity.  In September, 67 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 1.4 percentage points versus the prior three month period, while browsers were used by 35.1 percent of mobile subscribers (up 2.2 percentage points).  Those using mobile apps comprised 33.1 percent of the mobile audience, representing an increase of 2.5 percentage points.

Though it shouldn’t, it always surprises me how SMS remains the most popular mobile content with subscribers in all demographics.  Even with mobile apps and the mobile Web that bring the world to users’ fingertips, SMS continues to reign supreme.

Smartphone OS Market: Android Soars, iOS Remains Flat, Blackberry Continues Dive

Another day, another report on the fast-paced smartphone market.  The NPD Group today published its latest report on smartphone OS market share, with Android remaining the clear winner when compared with last year’s results.

The report focused on data concerning Q3 2010 and indicate that Android has seen substantial year-over-year gains, while Apple’s iOS remained flat and Blackberry continues its fall from the top.  In Q3 2009, Android held just 3% of all smartphones sales in the US, putting it last on the list in terms of the big three, while RIM was still flying hight with 46% of smartphone sales in the US.

What a difference a year makes.  Android has now skyrocketed to the number one position with 44% of US smartphone sales, while RIM moves into third place with just 22% of the market — less than half of what it saw just a year prior.  Apple, meanwhile, has remained steady in the number two spot with 23% of the market — down from 29% in Q3 2009.

While these numbers show Android as the clear winner, the logistics behind the open source OS make it an unfair comparison to both RIM and iOS.  Things will undoubtedly change when and if the Verizon iPhone is introduced, and newcomers like Windows Phone and an updated version of WebOS emerge.

32% Of Smartphone Buyers Choose Android, Now Most Popular Mobile OS In U.S.

New data out from Nielsen suggests Android is now the top choice for new smartphone buyers in the U.S., with 32% of new smartphone purchases sporting the open source OS.

These numbers show Android has now passed both the iPhone and Blackberry, with 25 percent choosing the iPhone OS and 26 percent choosing Blackberry as their smartphone of choice.  The data sample, which covers a period that includes a full-month of iPhone 4 availability, shows Blackberry still holds the largest share of the smartphone market with 31 percent, while 28 percent of smartphone owners have iPhones and only 19 percent have Android devices.

What’s interesting is that the picture looked far different only two months ago when Nielsen issued a similar report.  In June, BlackBerry was selling 35 percent of the smartphones in the U.S. while Android was selling 27 percent and Apple was in last place selling just 21 percent.  Who knows how the race will look in another two months.  One thing’s for sure, Android will continue its stride to the top as more OEMs choose the open source (and free) OS to power their devices.