It’s official. Google’s Android operating system captured the top spot for all smartphone subscribers between November and January.
According to research by comScore, more than 65 million Americans owned smartphones during this three-month period, up 8 percent from the previous three months. The company surveyed more than 30,000 mobile subscribers in the United States and found the Android OS had a market share of 31.2 percent. Devices running the Android previously accounted for 23.5 percent of the market in October 2010.
Research In Motion slipped to the second spot with 30.4 percent of the market, down from 35.8 percent in the previous time frame. Apple remained nearly the same, increasing slightly from 24.6 percent in October to 24.7 percent in January. This number should change due to Verizon Wireless now offering Apple products. Microsoft dipped from 9.7 percent to 8 percent during this time.
The top spot for devices went to Samsung, which was able to capture nearly 25 percent of the market by January 2011, up slightly from October. LG remained second with 20.8 percent, followed by Motorola with 16.5 percent, RIM with 8.6 percent and Apple 7 percent.
ComScore also researched what mobile users used their phones for. Social networking or blogs increased to 25.3 percent of subscribers, while games accounted for 23.7 percent and music 16.5 percent of mobile subscribers.
“In January, 68.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, while browsers were used by 37 percent of subscribers,” said comScore. “Subscribers who used downloaded applications comprised 35.3 percent of the mobile audience, representing an increase of 1.6 percentage points.”
Whichever operating system captures the top spot for consumers in the next three months, the market for smartphones is reaching record levels. IDC recently released figures revealing smartphones surpassed PC shipments during the fourth quarter of 2010, including companies shipping more than 100 million smartphones during this time.
