Study reveals growing smartphone penetration among US consumers

Thursday, November 10, 2011

A recent study conducted by Nielsen indicates that the adoption of smartphones among U.S. consumers continues to grow in popularity, particularly within younger audiences.

Of those respondents between the ages of 25 and 34, 62 percent own a smartphone. According to Nielsen, approximately 54 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 own the devices.

The study also revealed that approximately 40 percent of those aged between 12 and 17 and 45 to 54 have smartphones.

"As the smartphone market continues to expand, Android remains the most popular smartphone operating system in the United States, with 43 percent of the market, while Apple is the top smartphone manufacturer, with 28 percent of smartphone consumers sporting an Apple iPhone," said Nielsen.

The amount of smartphones sold worldwide continues to climb. According to a recent study by Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments for the third quarter reached an all-time high of 117 million units, increasing 44 percent from last year. Of the devices sold, nearly 28 million were Samsung models, which overtook Apple as the top manufacturer in the world.