60.7 million people in the US owned smartphones during the last quarter, up 14 percent from the preceding three month period. The number of smartphone owners who use Google's Android OS is about to pass the number of users on Apple's iOS, but the number of Americans on RIM's BlackBerry OS is still ahead of both. Based on the data provided by tracking firm comScore, Android saw a huge sales jump while iOS gained a little and BlackBerry dropped quite a bit.
In the three months ending in October, RIM dropped from 39.3 percent to 35.8 percent. Apple's share rose less than a single percentage point, going from 23.8 percent to 24.6 percent. Meanwhile, the share of Google users rose sharply from 17.0 percent to 23.5 percent.
If iOS and Android were neck and neck a month ago, it looks like the latter will pass the former in the current quarter, especially given that it includes the 2010 holiday season. BlackBerry should remain in first this year, but that lead won't last for long.
Microsoft's share dropped from 11.8 percent to 9.7 percent of smartphone subscribers. Palm's numbers fell from 4.9 percent to 3.9 percent. Despite losing share to Android, most smartphone platforms are still gaining users because the smartphone market overall continues to grow.