Comscore Reports April 2012 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

1 in 3 Subscribers Now Play Games on Their Mobile Devices

RESTON, VA, June 1, 2012 – 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 April 2012. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.9 percent market share. Google Android continued to grow its share in the U.S. smartphone market, accounting for 50.8 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Apple captured 31.4 percent.

OEM Market Share
For the three-month average period ending in April, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 0.5 percentage points), followed by LG with 19.2 percent share. Apple continued to grow its share in the OEM market, ranking third with 14.4 percent (up 1.6 percentage points), followed by Motorola with 12.5 percent and HTC with 6.0 percent.

Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: Comscore MobiLens
  Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Jan-12 Apr-12 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Samsung 25.4% 25.9% 0.5
LG 19.7% 19.2% -0.5
Apple 12.8% 14.4% 1.6
Motorola 13.2% 12.5% -0.7
HTC 6.4% 6.0% -0.4

Smartphone Platform Market Share

More than 107 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in April, up 6 percent versus January. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 50.8 percent market share (up 2.2 percentage points). Apple’s share of the smartphone market increased 1.9 percentage points to 31.4 percent. RIM ranked third with 11.6 percent share, followed by Microsoft (4.0 percent) and Symbian (1.3 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms
3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012
Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+
Source: Comscore MobiLens
  Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
Jan-12 Apr-12 Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Google 48.6% 50.8% 2.2
Apple 29.5% 31.4% 1.9
RIM 15.2% 11.6% -3.6
Microsoft 4.4% 4.0% -0.4
Symbian 1.5% 1.3% -0.2

Mobile Content Usage

In April, 74.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device. Downloaded applications were used by 50.2 percent of subscribers (up 1.6 percentage points), while browsers were used by 49.0 percent (up 0.5 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.3 percentage points to 36.0 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 33.1 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.3 percentage points), while 25.8 percent listened to music on their phones (up 1.3 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jan. 2012
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: Comscore MobiLens
  Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Jan-12 Apr-12 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Sent text message to another phone 74.6% 74.1% -0.5
Used downloaded apps 48.6% 50.2% 1.6
Used browser 48.5% 49.0% 0.5
Accessed social networking site or blog 35.7% 36.0% 0.3
Played Games 31.8% 33.1% 1.3
Listened to music on mobile phone 24.5% 25.8% 1.3

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.

Contact:
Adam Lella
Comscore, Inc.
+1 (312) 775-6474
press@comscore.com



 

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