The latest Nielsen smartphone data has revealed a few significant details -- among other things, that iPhones are coming up faster than Android phones, and that smartphones of any kind are now outselling "feature" (or 'classic'?) mobile phones.
"According to Nielsen’s May survey of mobile consumers in the U.S., 38 percent now own smartphones," states the Nielsenwire blog. "And 55 percent of those who purchased a new handset in the past three months reported buying a smartphone instead of a feature phone, up from 34 percent just a year ago."
As one commenter observed, it may not be an increased taste for smartphones that leads the market as much as a decreased supply of "dumphone" options.
The smartphone market is also becoming much more volatile, perhaps in part due to the unseating of long-time US market leader Research in Motion, whose BlackBerry smartphones have gone from setting the standard to trailing with a distant third in half a year's time.
RIM's woes are material enough to fill several other articles, but Nielsen merely states "RIM down among recent acquirers" and displays the struggling Canadian company's 21% share of the pie, next to Apple's 27% and Google's still-significant lead:
"Android continues to be the most popular smartphone operating system, with 38 percent of smartphone consumers owning Android devices," states the blog. "However, while Android also leads among those who recently purchased a new smartphone, it is the Apple iPhone that has shown the most growth in recent months."
Obviously, Nielsen gives no possible causes or any relevant background for this snapshot of the market's current status. However, it may be pertinent that Apple's devices are now on two networks (Verizon in addition to AT&T). Also, the numbers only count people who have purchased a phone (smart or "feature") in the past three months -- definitely a subset of the whole market, and not necessarily representative.
James Lee Phillips is a Senior Writer & Research Analyst for IBG.com. With offices in Dallas, Las Vegas, and New York, & London, IBG is quickly becoming the leading expert in Internet Marketing, Local Search, SEO, Website Development and Reputation Management. More information can be found at www.ibg.com. Stephen Hicks is the CEO of Southridge which is a diversified financial holding company.
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