51% Of Smartphone Buyers Are Android Users [Nielsen Report]

Smartphones are on the rise in the United States with 54.9 percent of all U.S. mobile subscribers now using smartphone based technology as of June 2012.

Nielsen in a study of American buying consumers found that 2 out of 3 Americans who purchased a mobile phone in the last three months chose a smartphone over a feature phone or standard cellular device.

Nielsen found that 51.8 percent of smartphone buyers now use a Google Android based devices while 34% rely on Apple’s iOS. Still holding on to 8.1% market share is the RIM Blackberry OS, although Blackberry maker Research In Motion has watched its market share quickly fall apart. Lagging far behind its main competition is Windows Phone and other less known mobile operating systems which command just 5% of the marketplace.

While Google Android has the highest market share, Apple leads the market as the manufacturer with the most phone sales. Apple currently controls 34% of the market while its closest competitor Samsung controls 17% followed by HTC with 14% and Motorola with 9% of the market.

Nielsen says smartphone buyers in June 2012 chose an Android handset 54 percent of the time and an iPhone based device 36 percent of the time.

This first chart shows the June 2012 market share based on operating system numbers:

This second chart shows market share based on manufacturer. Apple because of its sole ownership of the iOS mobile system is the only company using the platform for which it sits atop the sales chart:

Are you more impressed with Androids market dominance or Apple’s ability to control 34% of the market with only a handful of smartphone devices?