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Research: March 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Samsung, Motorola and LG in Dead Heat in OEM Subscriber Market Share.

Content

comScore, Inc. released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period ending March 2010 compared to the preceding three-month period. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and mobile operators in the U.S. according to their share of usage by current mobile subscribers age 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber’s primary mobile phone. The March report found Samsung, Motorola and LG separated by a mere fraction of a percentage point of market share among handset manufacturers, while Verizon led among mobile operators with 31.1 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

In the 3 month average ending in March, 234 million Americans age 13 and older were mobile subscribers, with device manufacturer Samsung ranking as the top OEM at a 21.9 percent share of U.S. mobile subscribers, inching out Motorola by a fraction of a percent. LG (21.8 percent share) ranked closely behind them, with RIM (8.3 percent share) and Nokia (8.3 percent share) rounding out the top five.

Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009
Total U.S. Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens

 

Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers

Dec-09

Mar-10

Point Change

Total Mobile Subscribers

100.0%

100.0%

N/A

Samsung

21.2%

21.9%

0.7

Motorola

23.5%

21.9%

-1.6

LG

21.9%

21.8%

-0.1

RIM

7.0%

8.3%

1.3

Nokia

9.2%

8.3%

-0.9

Mobile Operator Market Share

In a ranking of the top mobile operators in the U.S. during the 3 month average ending in March, Verizon led the market with 31.1 percent of mobile subscribers. AT&T ranked second with 25.2 percent market share, up 0.2 percentage points from the period ending December 2009. Sprint narrowly grabbed the #3 position with 12.0 percent market share, closely trailed by T-Mobile (12.0 percent), while Tracfone gained 0.3 points to capture 5.1 percent of the market.

Top Mobile Operators
3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009
Total U.S. Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens

 

Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers

Dec-09

Mar-10

Point Change

Total Audience: 13+ yrs old

100.0%

100.0%

N/A

Verizon

31.2%

31.1%

-0.1

AT&T (Cingular)

25.0%

25.2%

0.2

Sprint

12.1%

12.0%

-0.1

T-Mobile

12.1%

12.0%

-0.1

Tracfone

4.8%

5.1%

0.3

Mobile Content Usage

In an average month during the January through March 2010 time period, 63.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 0.6 percentage points versus three months prior. Browsers were used by 30.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 2.6 percentage points), while subscribers who used downloaded applications made up 28.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points). Access of social networking sites or blogs continued to increase, posting gains of 2.8 percentage points to 18.7 percent of mobile subscribers.

Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009
Total U.S. Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens

 

Share (%) of U.S. Mobile Subscribers

Dec-09

Mar-10

Point Change

Total Mobile Subscribers

100.0%

100.0%

N/A

Sent text message to another phone

63.1%

63.7%

0.6

Used browser

27.5%

30.1%

2.6

Used downloaded apps

26.0%

28.6%

2.6

Played games

21.6%

21.8%

0.2

Accessed social networking site or blog

15.9%

18.7%

2.8

Listened to music on mobile phone

12.1%

13.2%

1.1

Hispanics

According to an Experian Simmons study, hispanic mobile phone owners are 63% more likely than the average to be heavy mobile users, read the complete article here.

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