Apple snags 14% mobile market share in U.S., behind Samsung and LG

comScore released their first one fourth 2012 U.S. mobile market share numbers fairly recently, and though Apple has gotten a solid increase to 14% business, LG was still ahead with 19.3% while Samsung claimed 26%. The gap in smartphone platform market share with Android is increasing, as Google’s mobile OS snagged 51%, and iOS sat at 30.7%. Outside the U.S., IDC’s current research shows that Apple was in second place behind Samsung among cell phone vendors throughout the world. comScore went on to examine cell phone usage; 74.3% of mobile owners sent text messages between January and March, half of them down loaded apps, 49.3% used the browser, 36.1% used a social network or read a blog, 32.6% performed games, and 25.3% listened to music. It boggles me that taking part in music (even on dumbphones) isn’t most popular. I just aren’t getting the reasons you would bother operating a totally separate equipment when you’ll do just as well.

Although still being in third place, Apple is enjoying the almost all growth out of all of the mobile phone producers in the U.S. having seen a 1.6 point change in spread since December’s report. Even though Android is likely to maintain its lead in operating system share, I really doubt any single Android company will come close to beating out iPhone in the near future. Study similar to this also serves as a reminder that dumb phones are still a big part of the overall mobile market, and that Apple would do well to offer something entry level that customers could get on a prepaid basis. That direction would really make the most out of any Walmart presence Apple establishes.