ComScore: US Smartphone Market Is A Two Horse Race Between Samsung And Apple

ComScore’s October mobile market share data don’t appear to reflect the iPhone sales gains reported by Kantar Worldpanel Comtech research earlier this week. Android continues to lead the iPhone in the US market (53.6 percent to 34.3 percent) by roughly the same margin as in July. However both platforms gained share at the expense of all the others.

Indeed there was a loss of share for RIM and Windows Phone. According to the Kantar data Windows Phones are seeing some success in Europe though apparently not at all in the US market.

Android is increasingly synonymous with Samsung. Other than Apple all other handset makers (including Android handset makers) lost share. Google will need to develop some compelling new devices through Motorola if it hopes to maintain a healthy and diversified OEM ecosystem.

One of the reasons Google went into business with ASUS to develop the Nexus 7 was to prevent the “forked” Android Kindle Fire from becoming the dominant Android tablet, over which it had no influence or control. Samsung will have more and more leverage over the Google operating system if it’s the only device maker that matters in the Android universe.

ComScore says that US smartphone penetration in October was 51.9 percent. Pew not long ago said the number was 53 percent and Nielsen reports 55 percent moving to more than 60 percent by late Q4 or early Q1 2013.