Android market share jumps as BlackBerry slides; smartphones now owned by 1 in 3 Americans

By on Jul 5, 2011 at 4:55 PM
mobile July 5, 2011

According to a new report from comScore, 1 in 3 Americans now own a smartphone. Google’s Android OS is ahead of the pack with a 38.1% share of the market during the 3-month period ending in May — up 5.1% from the last report in February. Apple’s iOS operating system jumped 1.4 percentage points to a 26.6% share, and RIM’s BlackBerry OS fell 4.3% to a 24.7% share of the market. Microsoft also dropped from a 7.7% share to a 4.8% share, and HP’s webOS fell from a 2.8% share to a 2.4% share in May. Manufacturer mobile subscriber market share remained relatively flat: Samsung still has a 24.8% share of the market according to comScore, followed by LG (21.1%, down 0.2 percentage points), Motorola (16.1%, down 1 percentage point), Apple (8.6%, up 1.2 percentage points), and RIM (8.1%, down 0.5 percentage points). Read on for the full release from comScore.

comScore Reports May 2011 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Smartphones Reach Key Milestone; Now Owned by 1 in 3 Americans

RESTON, Va., July 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, 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 May 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.8 percent market share. Google Android led among smartphone platforms with 38.1 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three month average period ending in May, 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, followed by LG with 21.1 percent share and Motorola with 15.1 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 8.7 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 8.1 percent share.

Top Mobile OEMs

3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2011

Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+

Source: comScore MobiLens

Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Feb-11 May-11 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Samsung 24.8% 24.8% 0.0
LG 20.9% 21.1% 0.2
Motorola 16.1% 15.1% -1.0
Apple 7.5% 8.7% 1.2
RIM 8.6% 8.1% -0.5

Smartphone Platform Market Share

76.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in May 2011, up 11 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top operating system with 38.1 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers, up 5.1 percentage points. Apple strengthened its #2 position with 26.6 percent of the smartphone market, up 1.4 percentage points. RIM ranked third with 24.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.8 percent) and Palm (2.4 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms

3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2011

Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+

Source: comScore MobiLens

Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
Feb-11 May-11 Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Google 33.0% 38.1% 5.1
Apple 25.2% 26.6% 1.4
RIM 28.9% 24.7% -4.2
Microsoft 7.7% 5.8% -1.9
Palm 2.8% 2.4% -0.4

Mobile Content Usage

In May, 69.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Browsers were used by 39.8 percent of subscribers (up 1.5 percentage points), while downloaded applications were used by 38.6 percent (up 2.0 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 1.8 percentage points to 28.6 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 26.9 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.3 percentage points), while 18.6 percent listened to music on their phones.

Mobile Content Usage

3 Month Avg. Ending May 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2011

Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+

Source: comScore MobiLens

Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Feb-11 May-11 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Sent text message to another phone 68.8% 69.5% 0.7
Used browser 38.3% 39.8% 1.5
Used downloaded apps 36.6% 38.6% 2.0
Accessed social networking site or blog 26.8% 28.6% 1.8
Played Games 24.6% 26.9% 2.3
Listened to music on mobile phone 17.5% 18.6% 1.1
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73 Comments

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  • Anonymous

    Google, +1

  • Anonymous

    Great numbers for iOS and Android. Microsoft’s efforts to turn this into a 3 horse race are not effective at the moment it seems.

    I’m hard pressed to see what significance the Nokia deal has in the U.S as Nokia themselves have almost no presence when it comes to WP7.

    Interesting times ahead under Android and iOS.

    • Anonymous

      I’m still wondering where the analyst numbers came from that said WP7 would be passing iOS in the next couple years. At this rate it might not exist. They lost 25%…

  • Anonymous

    Google+ 5.1! ;)

  • Gunther

    But, but, but I thought the iPhone on Verizon had stalled Android’s momentum!!! This is unpossible!

    I demand a recount….

    Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to crawl under my desk with my iPhone and my Steve Jobs pillow.

    • Anonymous

      No, that argument didn’t work out so it was changed to “iOS adoption is stalled because of the imminent release of iOS 5.”  When that doesn’t work out, it will be because “Google gives phones away for free” then we will go back to “iOS is to Android as a Porche is to a Chevy–market share doesn’t matter, of course more people drive a Chevy.”  That’s where the Mac vs PC debate eventually settled.

      • Anonymous

        Even the Porsche argument doesn’t work in the smartphone space, because if a 911 cost the same as a Camaro, more people would drive the 911.

      • Anonymous

        The point is it DOESN’T.  iPhone4 is 199.  You can get like the Inspire4G for $99 or sometimes when places have sales for as low as $20.  (On contract of course).

        That said, my coworker went from an iPhone3G to an Inspire and he loves his Inspire.  Says the iPhone feels a little too simple for him now.  I think in the end pretty much all the phones are close enough in terms of functionality.  I think a lot of people who wanted the iPhone and went Android for the price found that their Android devices worked just fine and stopped lusting after the iPhone.  Of course I think the iPhone is still top dog amongst people who never owned any smart phone before.  I think it’s mythical to some people. 

        I know my cousin considered the iPhone as the mecca of smart phones for a long time.  I think it’s still her top most desired smart phone.

  • Anonymous

    FLAMEWAR!!!!

    In these comments: fanboys being fanboys.

  • Anonymous

    Oh bgr… How i love you… Android was “up” 5.1%, but iOS “jumped up” 1.4%?????

    • Ray Liotta

      You need help, whiny troll. You’re like the communist-era crackpots who swore up and down that Russians were hiding code in our newspapers. Get a life. Or a job. Just get something.

      • Anonymous

        Well, hmm I do have a job… Im sure I make more than you… I do have a life too… So Im whining because I point out that in the body of the article BGR continues to show the bias?  
        LOL…  Like I am the only one that has ever pointed out the bias in BGR… HAHAHA

      • Anonymous

        It’s on the GODDAMM HEADLINE you dolt!

    • Anonymous

      Android “jumped” too, in the headline “Android market share jumps as BlackBerry slides”

    • Anonymous

      ???

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvXVqfoL7OI Trinidad Mondesir

    Sheesh Get it together Microsoft!

  • Anonymous

    I think it’s reasonable to say that Apple will continue to carve out a 25-30% niche in the U.S. and a 15-20% niche globally. Unless they release a cheaper or prepaid version, I see them tapping out at about those marks. 

    Android will continue to destroy RIM, Nokia, etc. and dominate the market. Which it should, since it’s a free OS any OEM can use. Why spend the R&D? It will be as ubiquitous as JavaME was for older feature phones.

    However, since it is likely that Apple will continue to dominate the MP3 market with the iPod touch, and that the iPad is so far following the iPods footsteps, Apple’s steady and sizable iPhone market share will mean that iOS as a whole remains in a powerful position and capable of continuing to fuel support for its ecosystem.

    I have serious doubts this will be anything more than a two-horse race. 

    • Anonymous

      Maybe not.  With Mac, Apple showed us that a relatively small market share can support a robust ecosystem.  Most reports show Mac having about 5-8% of the PC market (depending on where you look).  The global PC market is about 1 billion users, so we can guess that 50-80 million users is necessary to support an application ecosystem.  The smartphone market is about 1/3 the size of the PC market, so my guess is therefore that any smartphone OS that can maintain at least a 15% market share may be viable in the long-run.  RIM still could pull this one out, but MS has a very long way to go before I’d put my eggs in the WP basket.

      • Anonymous

        Linux has about a 1% market share (~10m users) and has quite the app ecosystem.

  • Scott

    Funny how all the reports that show facts keep showing M$ as losing market share, yet these annalists keep thinking it’s going to be #2 in the next couple of years. If it’s not gaining traction now, how is it going to ever surpass?

  • Steve Hillshire

    Oh, so the i*hone was driving smart phone growth, huh Nielsen?  Suck it!  Everyone knows the i*hone on VZW wasn’t going to halt Android’s momentum. 

    Oh, BTW…

    ANDROID GOOD!!!!!!!  APPLE/iOS BAD!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Anonymous

      You’re a hack. Apple will rule the world.  true story™©®

    • Anonymous

      You missed the point of the whole Nielsen data and completely misunderstand what’s going on. The Nielsen and ComScore market share numbers are the same. Android is still growing at 27% but the new subscriber rate for them is flat at 27%. Apple’s new subscriber rate rose 7% to 17%. Therefore it is Apple who pushing new subscriber growth. When Apple passes or reduces Android’s new subscribers growth (likely next year) Android’s market share will decline.

      That’s why the numbers are not really good news for Android when you look at them in-depth. 

      • Anonymous

        That is some strange analysis.  First, the iPhone numbers at Nielson were skewed by the iPhone for Verizon launch.  That was a one time event.  It’s over.  More recent numbers show a re-acceleration for Android.  Unless Apple has some lower cost phones in their immediate future, market share will only get worse.  Whatever way you slice it, Apple’s share is about to decline. 

      • Anonymous

        “First, the iPhone numbers at Nielson were skewed by the iPhone for Verizon launch.”
        I remember many an Android fan laughing that there were no lines for the Verizon iPhone. The truth was that it was a slow migration to the iPhone. Consumers were not willing to pay an unsubsidized price to upgrade. That movement towards the iPhone on Verizon will continue.

        “More recent numbers show a re-acceleration for Android.”
        Do you have proof for this? I have. Go check out the new subscriber growth charts on Nielsen which tell a deeper story than ComScore’s numbers.

        “Unless Apple has some lower cost phones in their immediate future”
        They already do. The 3GS is $49 on AT&T and is rumored to be free later this year. I would expect a Verizon version of it as well (if not more carriers).

        “Whatever way you slice it, Apple’s share is about to decline.”
        Where is any proof of this? You cite no reasons, links, charts or graphs of this in your post to even say this is true.

    • http://profiles.google.com/jlog74 Jace Loggins

      I think the more important information would be a breakdown of demographics and usage for each of the platforms. 

      For example, my parents who are in their 60′s both have Android phones. What do they use them for? Making calls. Their screens are a jumbled mess of icons and they have no idea how to use the advanced features, nor any interest to learn. When asked why they got them: they were free.So I don’t think Android per se is driving smart phone growth either: the phone manufacturers licensing Android are driving it – and all they’re doing is undercutting each other.

      (disclosure: I have a crappy ass Blackberry, so I don’t have a dog in this fight and could care less)

  • Anonymous

    Now we all see in black and white, why Apple is suing everyone. Android & Samsung are giving Jobs and crew a great big Purple-Nurple.. THEY ARE KICKING THEIR ASS!

    Android… FTW

    • Anonymous

      Pretty sure Apple is pocketing quite a bit more then what Android oems are pulling in. Billions in the bank > % on a chart.

  • Anonymous

    It’s a shame that the majority of android customers are fooled into thinking they have bought a “smartphone” when in reality they have bought an expensive dumbphone. What’s the saying? There’s a sucker born every minute? Should be changed to there’s a sucker buying an android every minute. True story™©®

    • Anonymous

      Really? A Tegra 2 is a dumbphone? What’s the iPhone 4, a banana?

      • Anonymous

        Lol. Typical idiot fandroid response. Notice how I said the majority of
        android customers. U think every android phone sold is a top of the line 4G
        dual core phone with all the bells and whistles? Most of them are the low to
        mid range phones. Pieces of shit. true story™©®

      • Anonymous

        The more you post things the stupider you sound..

      • Anonymous

        Suck ma dick fuk wad.  true story™©®

      • Anonymous

        Rah Rah Rah, goat sucker

      • Anonymous

        Lol. Does it hurt knowing I’m right? Piece of shit androids are what most of
        u dumbasses own hahahahahah.  true story™©®

      • Anonymous

        Lol, you want a Android phone. Your envy says so. They are actually high class Android phones not crap. You like being told what you can have on your phone and what you can’t have by a guy who is old enough to be your Granddaddy. I refuse to be controlled by Granddaddy Jobs…

      • Anonymous

        Haha. Nice joke. U made me laugh. High class phones. Ur saying the LG
        optimus one or the Sony Ericsson experia are high class phones?? Daaaamn u
        funny!! Hey if u need to feel better about your crappy android count as
        many of those pieces of shit that u want to claim market share.  true
        story™©®

      • http://profiles.google.com/jshurak Jeff Shurak

        its a shame that the majority if apple customers are fooled into thinking they have bought a “smartphone” when in reality they have an expensive device that is completely limited to what Stevie wants them to use it for.   They buy iPhones because they’re too dumb to realize this.  Face it scroat, you own a fashion accessory and not much more than that.   I hope it goes with your shoes.

      • Anonymous

        Yes it is a shame. But it just works. FYI I jailbreak  true story™©®

      • http://profiles.google.com/jshurak Jeff Shurak

        “FYI I jailbreak”  So you don’t agree with Apple’s closed garden?

      • Anonymous

        Not about agreeing or disagreeing. Some people want a phone that “just
        works” in fact I’d say MOST people don’t give a crap about the little tweaks
        we do to customize it. I jailbreak because I like the polished feel of the
        iPhone with all the tweaks of android. True story™©®

    • Anonymous

      You want a Android phone so bad. Why do you dislike Android so much? I said it once I will say it again, there is no iphone that will be better than any Android high end phone this year, in hardware or features. The thing is Android will continue to rise and apple will gain 1 pt or 2 pts here or there.iphone 5 sales will fo up cause it a new release, but they will not be able to halt or stop Android’s momentum. The only thing apple has going for them is software and even that is dull and boring.Even iOS 5 is a mere resemblence of Android no matter how you look at it. And ever other company for that matter. Apple has been making software since the 70′s and they must have run out of ideas and innovation if they had to copy competition. Android just works for people and apple must love it too since they copied from them. Google’s OS has only been out for 3 yrs and apple already wants some of their features on their phones. Wow. So the way I see it come to Android now or later with iOS 5 but no matter what you will come.

      • Anonymous

        No I will not buy your magic beans.  true story™©®

      • Scott

        Get off your Android high horse. I’m no fanboy, as I enjoy all gadgets (I have owned iPhones and I currently rock an N1). But please don’t make yourself sound stupid by spouting off ” I said it once I will say it again, there is no iphone that will be
        better than any Android high end phone this year, in hardware or
        features.” Each OS has their pros and cons, that’s why we have more than 1 smartphone OS, which is why specs aren’t everything. And as far as specs go, I’ve yet to see any android phone with a screen that beats 960×640. But as I’ve said, specs aren’t every thing. If they were, then we would see more premium games on Android, but we don’t.

      • Anonymous

        No high horse here just the truth, It sounds like you can’t handle the truth. I never said specs were everything, read my post again. apple defender…

      • Anonymous

        Why does Apple need to halt Android’s momentum? They have a firm hold on 25% of the smartphone market, very firm hold on the tablet market, and the pmp market. They are making more money then Android OEMs as well. If Android was to gobble up all of RIM/WP/WebOS and have 75% of the market, I doubt Apple would be scared. They are still doing very well in the PC market and they have had less then 10% for this long.

        There is this illusion to a “war” between OS’s, OEMs, Carriers, etc, but they are all making millions/billions of dollars off of us. Developers are going to make apps for iOS first or along with Android and we are all going to get what we want.

        As far as specs, phones are already getting into the area that PCs were in years ago, specs that are awesome to list off, but fairly useless for 99% of consumers. Android will probably be quadcore next year, for what? You can only do so much with these devices and at some point everything hits a wall and anything beyond that wall if just for bragging/arguing rights.

        As an Android user, I find iOS much easier to use and from the questions I get from friends/family/co-workers, Android is harder to use for most people (non-geek/tech types).

      • Anonymous

        Apple can’t halt Android’s momentum!!! It’s beyond their reach. Like cancer when it spreads. Smartphones is over with for apple, they lost that battle that’s why they suing people. Tablets are next in line for Android  or Windows 8 to take over. Apple is worried and I would say scared. They never had to face this much competition so quickly from someone with a more popular OS like Google when it comes to phones.

        iOS is made by a 3rd grader for 3rd graders super simplicity. I guess that’s why they have to revamp it with iOS 5 with stolen features from competition. I could care less about the pc market and that other bull jive you talking about

      • Anonymous

        Lol, I didn’t think you were a troll. My bad. You got me.

      • Jerm

        because apple recent rise in the pc market has been because of the popularity of the iphone, now everyone want apple- if they lose the smartphone ”war”, i think its safe to assume they will lose some mac sales.

        they are also in danger of losing tablet dominance, after a few month android tablets rose from 0 to 30% from apples 90%

      • Anonymous

        @a1a3af45d5b5262f4056c68aeb24d8a0:disqus All data points to Apple controlling a nice chunk of the phone and smartphone pie. Android has a larger chunk, but marketshare has little impact on what consumers buy (at least Apple users). iPad sales/profit are out doing Macs now I believe, so even if Mac sales tanked, iPhone/Pad would more then cover them. Even with the increase in Mac users, they still have a very small chunk of the PC market.
        Android/Apple are going to be around for a while, WP7/RIM/Nokia are the ones that need to be doing their best not to be completely forgotten in the shuffle.As far as tablets, the 30% number was misquoted by BGR. It was 30% shipments in one quarter or something around there. Not total marketshare. iPads still outnumber and outsell everyone else combined. But I do hope Android steps up their game, I’m an Android fan and would prefer using it over iOS, but currently I am going to switch because what is out doesn’t suit my needs.

      • Zac Caslin

        Apple’s year old iPhone has better hardware than any android phone will ever have. Face it you want an android phone you’ll get a plastic piece of shit and love it.

  • Anonymous

    I am convinced these analyst are liars. Didn’t they say the iphone on Verizon stall Android? Android top smartphones numbers went up 5points over apple’s 1.

    I wish they would get off apple’s balls and post real needed facts! Apple is the thing of the past. New King in town Android and we still have 5 months left for the year and icecream hasn’t even been revealed yet.Wow No wonder apple wants to sue Samsung. They are designing better hardware and the phones look better than iphones.

    I said it once and I’ll say it again, Android is going to continue to increase and apple is going to continue to copy features from competition just to stay relevant.I can’t wait till the fall when Android brings the pain

    • Anonymous

      I can’t wait for ICS. I love Honeycomb’s UI on my Transformer, but it’s buggy and has bad compatibility, and looks nothing like my Thunderbolt. If Google can unify Android once more, Android will start to close the gap in the tablet space.

      • Anonymous

        They will my friend with Icecream come fall.

    • Anonymous

      Tooooooo bad 98% of android phones won’t be able to run ICS for atleast a year. Yeah I said it. And u know it’s a  true story ™©®

      • http://twitter.com/zc456 Squeaks

        You like Android. true story™©®

      • Anonymous

        Lies!!!!

  • Anonymous

    Android > apple
    Hardware is better
    Features are better
    More available to real people and not just the elite
    Apps are becoming more available
    Android is continuing to grow while apple is about to remain stagnant, 1pt here,2pts there

    • Brandon Nunn

      Apple devices have typically added just a few features a year, while Android is adding many features every few months.  I love Android and I respect iOS.  Android is amazingly capable and can be customized to do nearly anything.  iOS has a very fluid and reliable interface with minimal bugs.  That said, I would rather tolerate a few bugs just to have the capability Android offers.  As a music player the iPhone is great.  Apple’s biggest problem is the god mentality.  Bizarre policies keep the device from being everything it is capable of being.

    • http://profiles.google.com/jshurak Jeff Shurak

      iphone is for people that need to feel elite.  true story.

  • Anonymous

    C’mon, Pre 3. webOS is really a great OS, and finally has decent hardware. I hope it becomes the 3rd horse in the iOS/Android takeover. Also, shut up, iOS fanboys, Android hasn’t peaked.

    • YoYo

      God its going to suck for you when reality smacks you in the face and you realie……..majority of people hate/dislike Palm, can’t say i blame them. 

  • Brian

    A tear comes to my eye that bgr has to admit that the fruit company is not the end all be all.

  • Anonymous

    We accept the honour with great humility but, the title should read “Android soars high while Blackberry nosedives and iOS iSpirals downwards.”

    For real.™®©•π

  • Anonymous

    lol, iPhone4 still kicks them all to the curb.

    http://www.total-privacy.se.tc

    • Anonymous

      in Your dreams

  • http://www.facebook.com/bjnunn Brandon J. Nunn

    I like that image at the beginning!  Too bad it is not a high enough resolution for a wallpaper…

    • http://twitter.com/Kevniv Kevin N

      ive seen in zedge

      • http://www.facebook.com/bjnunn Brandon J. Nunn

        I actually found a use for Google Image Search.  Paste link and voila!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_O7DXHH4LLFAJWSM2UVYXT7G2UQ Tommy Terry

    I paid $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for $94.83 being delivered to our house tomorrow by FedEX. I will never again pay expensive retail prices at stores. I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to my boss for $650 and it only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website we using to get all this stuff, LiveCent.com

  • http://twitter.com/Kevniv Kevin N

    Microsoft Kin rocks!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6MGS55SVKG6EODVMQXN5MY7VNA parex

    There’s a glaring omission of smart phone sales by OEM.  I’d like to know where Apple stands on that list.

  • http://androidaccelerate.blogspot.com/ RJ

    Google for the win. Android rocks!

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