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Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King
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Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says

By | September 1, 2011, 9:35am PDT

Summary: New research shows that smartphones is approaching the midway mark in the U.S. mobile market.

Forty percent of mobile users over the age of 18 in the United States now have smartphones as of the end of July, according to a new survey from Nielsen.

But even more strikingly, 40 percent of that 40 percent piece of the pie own Android-based smartphones. That’s a slight increase from last month’s results, which saw Android capture 39 percent of smartphones in the United States. Although iOS has stayed steady at 28 percent, Apple is still the top single smartphone vendor.

Nevertheless, this survey shows that Android is certainly gaining on Apple. When those who said they are likely to purchase a new smartphone in the next year, Nielsen reports that roughly one third will pick up an iPhone and another one third will opt for an Android phone.

Thus, that last third will be made up by whatever is left, primarily Windows Phone 7 (or 8?) and RIM’s BlackBerry OS.

Nielsen adds that 40 percent of respondents heralded Android as the “Next Desired Operating System,” and iOS trailed not too far behind with 32 percent.

Could these opinions change once iOS 5 is available? Or perhaps Ice Cream Sandwich (despite the ridiculous name) will really surprise everyone.

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Topics

U.S., Mobile, Smart Phone, Mobile User, Smart Phones, Cellular Phones, Handhelds, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Hardware, Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

Disclosure

Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
erica55 15th Sep
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0 Votes
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
Peter Perry 1st Sep
No, they will not change because Apple isn't bringing a thing to the table that Android doesn't already have.

Android is ahead because of features period!

For those claiming it is cheap phones, do some research, the most successful Android handsets that sold had a cost within $50 of the iPhone at launch and some were more expensive and still beat Apple on their respective carriers (HTC Thunderbolt was $249).
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
CobraA1 1st Sep
@Peter Perry Gotta be careful, however: Apple has really nailed the advertising. Features are cool, but they tend to draw geeks more than regular users. Sell the overall experience, not just the features.
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
AdnanPirota 1st Sep
@CobraA1 a lot of people are moving from mobile apps to mobile web as it is too expensive to develop applications for all different platforms so overall experience very soon will be the same in all mobile platforms
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
Aerowind 1st Sep
@CobraA1 Advertising has always been one of Apple's strong points though.

That said, until Apple's voice-to-text and voice commands are on par with Android's, I'll stick to Android.

I was taking in by advertising as well though. I owned two iOS devices before grabbing an Android. I'm sad that it took me so long.
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
anothercanuck 1st Sep
@CobraA1 You are correct, Apple's advertising works very well on weak minded people that believe a device can make them cool.
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
anothercanuck 1st Sep
"Nevertheless, this survey shows that Android is certainly gaining on Apple."
Are we looking at the same graphic? Android 40%, Apple 28%. Looks like Android is leaving Apple in its dust.

The fact Apple is the single biggest smartphone vendor is because only Apple makes iPhones.
Consumers want choice, and the sentence "My iPhone4 is better than your iPhone4." is not something you will ever hear.
With Android, multiple vendors with multiple units gives consumers a wide selection of features and price. Unless Apple widens its offerings, it is doomed to have an ever decreasing market share.
0 Votes
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
spdragoo@... 2nd Sep
@anothercanuck

"Apple is still the top single smartphone vendor." is the last phrase in that paragraph. When you look at the previous Nielsen survey (referenced above), it turns out that Nielsen in the previous one not only had share based on OS, but also divided each share up by *hardware* vendor (i.e. when Android overall had 39% of the total vs. iOS's 28%, it was iOS 28% vs. HTC 14%/Motorola 11%/Samsung 8%/Other 6%).

In other words, Android as an OS has more users than iOS... but when it comes to the *hardware* (the smartphones themselves), Apple has more than HTC, Samsung, Motorola, or other Android providers individually.
0 Votes
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
AdnanPirota 1st Sep
"Nielsen adds that 40 percent of respondents heralded Android as the ?Next Desired Operating System,? and iOS trailed not too far behind with 32 percent." - I believe this is first time ever that more people want something else other than iOS :))))))))))
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RE: Almost half of U.S. mobile users own smartphones, survey says
erica55 15th Sep
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