ComScore: Android Powers 45% of U.S. Smartphones

New comScore data on mobile usage shows the number of smart phones continues to grow rapidly, increasing 12% from June of 2011 to 87.4 million in Sept. of 2011, and that the Android platforms continues to grain market share, hitting 44.8%.

The data, which shows a three month average for the period ending Sept. 2011 and is based on a survey of over 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers by the comScore MobiLens service, is notable because it once again highlights the growing importance of the Android platform for the mobile strategies of media and entertainment companies. That survey also found that Samsung was the largest handset supplier in the U.S. with 25.3% of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG (20.6%), Motorola (13.8%), Apple (10.2%) and RIM (7.1%). LG, Motorola and RIM all lost market share while Samsung held steady at 25.3% and Apple saw a notable gain from 8.9% to 10.2%. Overall, about 234 million Americans aged 13 and older used mobile devices.