comScore, Inc. today released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending February 2011.
For the three month average period ending in February, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 24.8 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, up 0.3 percentage points from the three month period ending in November. LG ranked second with 20.9 percent share, followed by Motorola (16.1 percent) and RIM (8.6 percent). Apple saw the strongest gain, up 0.9 percentage points to account for 7.5 percent of subscribers, on momentum from the release of the Verizon iPhone, the most acquired handset in the month of February.
69.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in February 2011, up 13 percent from the preceding three-month period. Google Android grew 7.0 percentage points since November, strengthening its #1 position with 33.0 percent market share. RIM ranked second with 28.9 percent market share, followed by Apple with 25.2 percent. Microsoft (7.7 percent) and Palm (2.8 percent) rounded out the top five.
In February, 68.8 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Browsers were used by 38.4 percent of subscribers (up 3.1 percentage points), while downloaded applications were used by 36.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 3.2 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 3.3 percentage points, representing 26.8 percent of mobile subscribers. Playing games represented 24.6 percent of the mobile audience, while listening to music represented 17.5 percent.
comScore, Inc. is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo
MacDailyNews Take: The Verizon iPhone 4 went on sale on February 10, 2011, so these numbers, which stretch back to November 2010, are only the faintest hint of what’s to come. The Verizon iPhone 4 was most acquired handset in the U.S. in February, despite being available for only 18 days that month.