3 out of 5 first-time smartphone owners in the US choose Android !!!

 

There are many reasons why Android is the most popular operating system around, ranging from its open source nature to its availability to all consumers, regardless of financial capability. Android has been dominating the smartphone market across the world. We know about how Android’s market share in Spain is a whopping 84%, and around 50% in the US. But that number is all set to grow, although slowly, if a new report by Comscore is any indication.


Comscore, an internet marketing research company, has just released a report, which states that 62% of first-time smartphone owners choose Android devices, with 25% picking iOS. Granted, this is likely because Android includes all devices across the price spectrum, with iOS featured on only the high-end iPhone. While Apple might be better off financially against Android device manufacturers, market share numbers are also a very important factor in the race for smartphone and OS dominance.
Highlights of this report include:

• Around 110 million users in the US own a smartphone.
• 47.5% consumers who owned feature phones upgraded to smartphones, and increase of almost 10%, with around 50% choosing to change to another smartphone.
• 61.5% of first-time smartphone buyers chose Android, with 25.2% picking Apple devices. Microsoft (Windows Phone) and RIM accounted for 7.1% and 4.8% respectively.
• For users that upgraded from one smartphone to another, 54.2% bought Android devices, with 33.5% buying iOS devices.

Important to note is the last point, of an upgrade from one smartphone to another, where the numbers are somewhat similar to the current market share breakup. Safe to assume that, as expected, Android users upgrade to another Android device, with iOS users staying loyal to Apple.
Check out the press release below for the complete Comscore report.
What are your thoughts? Is it unexpected that first-time smartphone owners prefer Android? Is there any area of the report that surprises you? Let us know in the comments section below.

Show full PR text

The Great American Smartphone Migration: Nearly Half of Feature Phone Subscribers Who Acquired a New Device in April Switched to a Smartphone

62 Percent of First-Time Smartphone Owners Chose Android Devices, While 25 Percent Opt for iPhones
RESTON, VA, July 25, 2012 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results from a study of first-time U.S. smartphone owners with insights from the comScore MobiLens service. The study found that nearly half of feature phone subscribers who acquired a device during April 2012 switched to a smartphone, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from the previous year, as smartphone adoption continues its upward climb in the U.S. Among this audience, 61.5 percent of consumers acquired devices running the Google Android platform, with 25.2 percent choosing Apple devices and 7.1 percent opting for Microsoft smartphones.
“The growing number of smartphones available to consumers, accompanied by the decrease in price points and surge in mobile media content, have made smartphone ownership possible and desirable for many more Americans,” said Mark Donovan, comScore SVP of Mobile. “Within the year, we expect to see smartphone owners become the mobile majority, a milestone that represents not only the evolution of the mobile landscape but highlights the enormous potential for marketers as these powerful, ubiquitous devices open new opportunities to reach a growing audience of consumers.”
Smartphone Adoption among Feature Phone Owners Surges Nearly 10 Percentage Points in the Past Year
In the past year, smartphone adoption has grown rapidly with nearly 110 million Americans owning a smartphone device in April 2012, up 44 percent from the previous year. Analysis of new smartphone owners found that 47.5 percent of feature phone subscribers who acquired a device in April switched to a smartphone, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from the previous year. Slightly more than half (50.7 percent) of feature phone subscribers in the market for a device chose to acquire another feature phone, with this audience witnessing a rapid decline in the past year.

Smartphone and Feature Phone Acquisition in Past Month 3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012  Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+ that Acquired Device in Month* Source: comScore MobiLens Custom Analysis
	% Share of Feature Phone Audience
	Apr-11	Apr-12	Point Change
Feature Phone to Smartphone	38.0%	47.5%	+9.5
Feature Phone to Feature Phone	60.6%	50.7%	-9.9
N/A**	1.4%	1.9%	+0.5

*Acquired phone in month refers to people who received a new phone during the month including people who purchased a device, who received a phone but did not directly purchase the device, etc.
**N/A refers to mobile subscribers that acquired a new device within the month, but acquired device type was unknown.
3 of 5 First-Time Smartphone Owners Chose Android Devices
Among those feature phone subscribers that acquired a smartphone device in the past month, 61.5 percent chose a Google Android device, while 25.2 percent acquired an Apple device. Devices operating on the Microsoft platform accounted for 7.1 percent of acquired smartphones, while RIM represented 4.8 percent.
In comparison, among existing smartphone subscribers that acquired a new smartphone device in the past month, 54.2 percent chose Android devices while 33.5 percent preferred Apple devices. RIM accounted for 9.6 percent of acquired devices, while Microsoft represented 3.0 percent.

Smartphone Acquisition in Past Month: OS Analysis 3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012  Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers, Age 13+ that Acquired Device in Month* Source: comScore MobiLens Custom Analysis
	% Share of Audience of Those Acquiring Smartphone in Month
	Feature Phone to Smartphone	Smartphone to Smartphone**
Google	61.5%	54.2%
Apple	25.2%	33.5%
Microsoft	7.1%	3.0%
RIM	4.8%	9.6%

*Acquired phone in month refers to people who received a new phone during the month including people who purchased a device, who received a phone but did not directly purchase the device, etc.
**Including migration within same OS.
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:
Sarah Radwanick
Manager Marketing Communications
comScore, Inc.
+1 206 268 6310
press@comscore.com