New York – Smartphone
penetration rose in February to 49.7 percent of all cellular subscribers, up
from a year-ago 36 percent, and it’s only going to go higher, a Nielsen
consumer survey found.
Nielsen also
found that two-thirds of those who acquired a new cellphone within the past three
months chose a smartphone over a feature phone and that by a growing percentage,
consumers are buying an Apple iPhone.
Among the
installed base of smartphone users, 48 percent use an Android smartphone and 32
percent use an Apple smartphone, but among recent smartphone acquirers, 43
percent bought an Apple smartphone.
Apple’s share gains among recent purchasers are coming at the expense of
the Windows and BlackBerry operating systems, given that Android represented 48
percent of the smartphones purchased by recent acquirers and 48 percent of the
installed base.
Blackberry
owners represented 11.6 percent of the installed base but only 5 percent of
recent acquirers.
