Invasion: Android Makes Big Gains In OS Share, Passing Microsoft
Specifically, RIM's share of the U.S. smartphone operating system market declined to 39.3 percent from 41.4 percent in the three-month period ended July 31, 2010, comScore reported Wednesday. Apple's iOS platform also declined, from a 25.1 percent share to a 23.8 percent share. It's Android that's coming on strong, having gained in the three-month period a 17 percent share from 12 percent.
The most significant win for Google may have come against archnemesis Microsoft. Coming in behind BlackBerry, iOS and Android was Microsoft, whose OS share declined to 11.8 percent, and Hewlett-Packard-owned Palm, which was flat at 4.9 percent.
Comscore tracked mobile subscribers and their smartphones and weighed results against the same study it did for the period ended April 30 to arrive at its numbers.
Among smartphone manufacturers, Samsung still holds the top spot in the U.S. for mobile phones, claiming a 23.1 percent share in Comscore's numbers. LG is right behind it, with 21.1 percent, followed by Motorola at 19.8 percent, RIM at 9 percent and Nokia at 7.8 percent. LG, Motorola and Nokia all lost between 0.3 and 1.8 percent share in the period, while RIM grew its share 0.6 percent.
The Android invasion -- responsible for a small galaxy of hot smartphones and other mobile devices -- is by now well-documented. Motorola, Samsung and HTC are three of the most visible manufacturers to heavily back the platform.
In its report, Comscore also noted that text messaging is by far the most popular mobile phone activity, with 66 percent of mobile subscribers saying they text most, followed by 33.6 percent saying they Web surf, 31.4 percent saying they download apps and 22.3 percent saying they play games.