comScore, Inc. released results from a study of first-time U.S. smartphone owners with insights from the comScore MobiLens service. The study found that nearly half of feature phone subscribers who acquired a device during April 2012 switched to a smartphone, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from the previous year, as smartphone adoption continues its upward climb in the U.S. Among this audience, 61.5 percent of consumers acquired devices running the Google Android platform, with 25.2 percent choosing Apple devices and 7.1 percent opting for Microsoft smartphones.

“The growing number of smartphones available to consumers, accompanied by the decrease in price points and surge in mobile media content, have made smartphone ownership possible and desirable for many more Americans,” said Mark Donovan, comScore SVP of Mobile. “Within the year, we expect to see smartphone owners become the mobile majority, a milestone that represents not only the evolution of the mobile landscape but highlights the enormous potential for marketers as these powerful, ubiquitous devices open new opportunities to reach a growing audience of consumers.”

Smartphone Adoption among Feature Phone Owners Surges Nearly 10 Percentage Points in the Past Year

In the past year, smartphone adoption has grown rapidly with nearly 110 million Americans owning a smartphone device in April 2012, up 44 percent from the previous year. Analysis of new smartphone owners found that 47.5 percent of feature phone subscribers who acquired a device in April switched to a smartphone, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from the previous year. Slightly more than half (50.7 percent) of feature phone subscribers in the market for a device chose to acquire another feature phone, with this audience witnessing a rapid decline in the past year.



*Acquired phone in month refers to people who received a new phone during the month including people who purchased a device, who received a phone but did not directly purchase the device, etc.
**N/A refers to mobile subscribers that acquired a new device within the month, but acquired device type was unknown.

3 of 5 First-Time Smartphone Owners Chose Android Devices

Among those feature phone subscribers that acquired a smartphone device in the past month, 61.5 percent chose a Google Android device, while 25.2 percent acquired an Apple device. Devices operating on the Microsoft platform accounted for 7.1 percent of acquired smartphones, while RIM represented 4.8 percent.

In comparison, among existing smartphone subscribers that acquired a new smartphone device in the past month, 54.2 percent chose Android devices while 33.5 percent preferred Apple devices. RIM accounted for 9.6 percent of acquired devices, while Microsoft represented 3.0 percent.



*Acquired phone in month refers to people who received a new phone during the month including people who purchased a device, who received a phone but did not directly purchase the device, etc.
**Including migration within same OS.