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Android, iPhone gain U.S. share in July as RIM, Microsoft slide

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:27PM EST
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Google’s Android platform continued on its warpath in the U.S. last month according to new data from industry watcher comScore. ComScore on Tuesday released its July MobiLens data, showing that Android again enjoyed the biggest gains among smartphone operating systems in the U.S. Google’s mobile OS grew 5.4 points compared to April to take 41.8% of the U.S. smartphone market in July. Apple’s iOS was the only other platform to show gains between April and July, climbing 1 point to 27%. RIM’s BlackBerry OS dipped 4 points to 21.7% to slide back to the No. 3 spot, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and Windows Phone platforms combined to account for just 4.7% of the market compared to 5.7% in April, and Symbian slid 0.4% to 1.9% last month. Samsung is still the country’s top cell phone vendor with a 25.5% share in July, and LG stayed flat at 20.9% in the No. 2 spot. Motorola slid 1.5 points between April and July to account for 14.1% of the cell phone market, Apple gained 1.2 points to hit 9.5% and RIM rounded out the top-5, dipping 0.6% to 7.6% last month. ComScore’s full press release follows below.

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

More than 80 Million Americans Now Own Smartphones

RESTON, VA, August 30, 2011 – 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 July 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.5 percent market share. Google Android continued to gain ground in the smartphone market reaching 41.8 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three month average period ending in July, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 1.0 percentage points), followed by LG with 20.9 percent share and Motorola with 14.1 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 9.5 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 7.6 percent share.

Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Apr-11 Jul-11 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Samsung 24.5% 25.5% 1.0
LG 20.9% 20.9% 0.0
Motorola 15.6% 14.1% -1.5
Apple 8.3% 9.5% 1.2
RIM 8.2% 7.6% -0.6

Smartphone Platform Market Share

82.2 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in July 2011, up 10 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 41.8 percent market share, up 5.4 percentage points. Apple strengthened its #2 position with 27.0 percent of the smartphone market, up 1.0 percentage points from the prior reporting period. RIM ranked third with 21.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.7 percent) and Symbian (1.9 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011
Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
Apr-11 Jul-11 Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Google 36.4% 41.8% 5.4
Apple 26.0% 27.0% 1.0
RIM 25.7% 21.7% -4.0
Microsoft 6.7% 5.7% -1.0
Symbian 2.3% 1.9% -0.4

Mobile Content Usage

In July, 70 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 1.2 percentage points. Browsers were used by 41.1 percent of subscribers (up 2.0 percentage points), while downloaded applications were used by 40.6 percent (up 2.8 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.1 percentage points to 30.1 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 27.8 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.6 percentage points), while 20.3 percent listened to music on their phones (up 2.3 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Apr-11 Jul-11 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Sent text message to another phone 68.8% 70.0% 1.2
Used browser 39.1% 41.1% 2.0
Used downloaded apps 37.8% 40.6% 2.8
Accessed social networking site or blog 28.0% 30.1% 2.1
Played Games 26.2% 27.8% 1.6
Listened to music on mobile phone 18.0% 20.3% 2.3
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.