comScore Reports May 2012 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Apple’s Market Share Approaches 1 in Every 3 Smartphone Subscribers

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, 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 2012. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.7 percent market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the U.S. smartphone market, accounting for 50.9 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Apple captured 31.9 percent.

OEM Market Share

For the three-month average period ending in May, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.1 percentage points), followed by LG with 19.1 percent share. Apple continued to grow its share in the OEM market, ranking third with 15.0 percent (up 1.5 percentage points), followed by Motorola with 12.0 percent and HTC with 6.1 percent.

Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending May 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
  Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Feb-12 May-12 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Samsung 25.6% 25.7% 0.1
LG 19.4% 19.1% -0.3
Apple 13.5% 15.0% 1.5
Motorola 12.8% 12.0% -0.8
HTC 6.3% 6.1% -0.2
Smartphone Platform Market Share

Nearly 110 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in May, up 5 percent versus February. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 50.9 percent market share (up 0.8 percentage points). Five years after the release of the first iPhone, Apple’s share of the smartphone market reached 31.9 percent in May (up 1.7 percentage points). RIM ranked third with 11.4 percent share, followed by Microsoft (4.0 percent) and Symbian (1.1 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms
3 Month Avg. Ending May 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2012
Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
  Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
Feb-12 May-12 Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Google 50.1% 50.9% 0.8
Apple 30.2% 31.9% 1.7
RIM 13.4% 11.4% -2.0
Microsoft 3.9% 4.0% 0.1
Symbian 1.5% 1.1% -0.4
Mobile Content Usage

In May, 74.8 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Downloaded applications were used by 51.1 percent of subscribers (up 1.6 percentage points), while browsers were used by 49.8 percent (up 0.6 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.6 percentage points to 36.7 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 33.5 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.3 percentage points), while 27.0 percent listened to music on their phones (up 2.2 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending May 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
  Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Feb-12 May-12 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Sent text message to another phone 74.8% 74.8% 0.0
Used downloaded apps 49.5% 51.1% 1.6
Used browser 49.2% 49.8% 0.6
Accessed social networking site or blog 36.1% 36.7% 0.6
Played Games 32.2% 33.5% 1.3
Listened to music on mobile phone 24.8% 27.0% 2.2
About MobiLens

MobiLens data is derived from an intelligent online survey of a nationally representative sample of mobile subscribers age 13 and older. Data on mobile phone usage refers to a respondent’s primary mobile phone and does not include data related to a respondent’s secondary device.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.