Android now Represents Half of U.S. Smartphone Market

Google's Android has bitten off a 50 percent chunk of the U.S. smartphone market, according to the latest stats from ComScore. Over the three months from December through February, Android carved out an average 50.1 percent share, a leap of 17 points from the same period in 2011 and 3.2 points from the prior three-month period. In second place, Apple's iOS grabbed a 30.2 percent share, inching up 1.5 points from the previous three months. Combined, those numbers gave iOS and Android a collective share of more than 80 percent.

RIM's U.S. market share fell more than three points to 13.4 percent, according to ComScore. Microsoft saw its share for Windows Mobile dip more than a point to 3.9 percent. And Nokia's Symbian remained flat with a market share of just 1.5 percent. Overall, more than 104 million people in the United States owned smartphones during the three months ending in February, up 14 percent over the prior period. Among all mobile-phone makers (smartphones and feature phones), Samsung retained the highest market share in the United States, though flat. LG stayed in second place, despite losing a point since the prior period.