|| Author: Kim LaCapria|Tags: , , ,

[Survey] 71% of Americans Own an iPhone or Android Handset

smartphone marketshare

Although smartphones may be struggling to gain traction worldwide, it seems that Americans are adopting the devices at a rate outpacing that of those in other countries.

We reported yesterday that smartphones only have 26% of marketshare among cell phone users worldwide, but in the US, that number is as high as 44%, according to a Nielsen survey. Among the 44% of Americans that use smartphones, 71% have opted for an Apple iPhone or Android handset, eschewing more traditional models like BlackBerry devices. (Which are apparently no longer cool.) 56% of all cell phone subscribers in the US that purchased a new phone in the past three months opted for a smartphone, the consumer think tank adds, and Apple tops the charts with 28% of smartphone users to RIM’s total 18%.

Bringing apps into the data, 83% of app users have iPhones or Android devices, leading the pack of the remaining smartphone options in app download rates by a significant margin. Earlier this month, Nielsen reported that Android was the only sector to gain market share in the third quarter.