Verizon iPhone Drives up Apple's Market Share, but Samsung Still Rules

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By Ashley Watson, dealnews writer

In the latest report published by comScore on the cell phone market, the Verizon iPhone was listed as the most acquired cell phone in the month of February, which lifted Apple's market share by nearly 1%. While that might not seem like a huge number, that's a lot in this particular war over turf and bragging rights.

Apple now can claim a 7.5% market share of mobile subscribers, and is in striking distance of RIM, the maker of the once ubiquitous Blackberry. In the survey of over 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers, Samsung still ranks as top mobile subscriber in the study, with 24.8% of market share, followed closely by LG. Motorola has a 16.1% share.

In the platform race, Google Android led the way with 33% of the smartphone market share.

Some other interesting stats to note from the report:

  • During the month of February, 234 million Americans over the age of 13 used mobile devices
  • Ownership of smartphones in the U.S. was up to 69.5 million people during three months ending in February, a 13% gain.
  • Of all mobile subscribers, 69% used text messaging and 38% used browsers. Playing games and listening to music accounted for 25 and 18% respectively.

Although comScore declined to comment, this growth in browser and downloading applications may reflect the increase in smartphone sales. However, Microsoft-based phones saw a dip in sales during the three-month period, falling from 9 to 7.7% of smartphone subscribers.

What does this mean for consumers? If you are looking for a deal on a phone, it may be good news. Heated competition can drive down prices, and a quick check of our most recent cell phone deals shows a plethora of bargains. And it's not just about hardware these days, but accessories and apps, which the cell phone companies use as bait to get you to buy their phones and subscribe to their services. So for every Motorola Atrix offered for $100 or HTC Thunderbolt for $157, think about all the free iPhone apps offered as a counter.

Take our poll and give us your opinion on which smartphone platform will continue to lead the way.


Ashley Watson is a freelance writer based in Burlington, Vermont. When she's not writing for dealnews, she's working on an independent film project and writing and editing screenplays. You can follow her by signing up for an email alert for all dealnews features.
DealNews may be compensated by companies mentioned in this article. Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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1 comment
Dan de Grandpre (DealNews)
Just an FYI Ashley: Google, RIM, Apple, and Microsoft aren't "smartphone platforms." Android, Blackberry, iPhone (or "iOS"), and Windows Phone 7 are smartphone platforms. Sure, comScore made the same mistake, but they're blithering idiots. ;-)
April 6, 2011