New numbers released this week by Nielsen reveal that 55.5% of mobile subscribers in the U.S. now own a smartphone as of July 2012, an increase from 41% in the same period last year. The research firm found that adults between the ages of 25 and 34 were the largest group of owners with 74% penetration, while 58% of young adults between 13 and 17 years old owned smartphones, an increase from only 36% in July 2011.
“Among most age groups smartphones represent the majority of U.S. mobile subscribers, but American teens were the age group adopting smartphones the fastest,” Nichole Henderson, a Nielsen analyst, said. “As teens increase in their share of smartphone owners, mobile carriers and manufacturers should consider how to market to this growing group.”
Nielsen found that Android smartphones remained the most popular accounting for 52% of phones, and Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone was a distant second with a 34% of the market.
