comScore Reports February 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Use of Social Media via Mobile Device Continues to Post Strong Gains

comScore shared key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period between November 2009 and February 2010. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and smartphone platforms in the U.S. according to their share of usage by current mobile subscribers age 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber’s primary mobile phone.

The February report found Motorola to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 22.3% market share, while RIM led among smartphone platforms with 42.1% market share.

Read more >

Use of Social Media via Mobile Sees Considerable Gains in Past 3 Months

comScore Reports January 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

comScore released a January 2010 report on the U.S. mobile subscriber market share. The report reveals that in the 3 month average ending in January, 234 million Americans were mobile subscribers aged 13 and older, and Motorola ranked as the top original equipment manufacturer with 22.9% of U.S. mobile subscribers. In an average month during the November through January 2010 time period, mobile browsers were used by 28.6% of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 1.8 percentage points).

Read more >

Local Searchers Go Mobile

Jack Loechner
MediaPost

comScore, Inc. reports that the number of people who sought local information on a mobile device grew 51% from March 2008 to March 2009. The mobile browser is the leading access method, with 20.7 million users seeking local information in March 2009, up 34% versus year ago.

The strongest growth in the category is coming from downloaded applications, followed by SMS at 72%. However, developers, carriers and device OEMs remain the least popular access mode for mobile access of local information. A marginally more often used channel for obtaining local information is SMS, with an impressive 72% growth rate. Overwhelmingly, though, the preferred mode to access local content remains the mobile browser.

Serge Matta, comScore senior vice president, says "...it would not be surprising within the next six months to see the number of people using downloadable applications surpass SMS for the accessing of local information via mobile devices... "

Among the various local content categories, the number of people accessing online directories has seen the greatest increase during the past year, followed by restaurants, maps, and movies.

Across the board, local search-focused Internet brands have been developing mobile content at a feverish pace. AT&T Interactive has made a significant effort to expand its YELLOWPAGES.COM online experience across several mobile platforms.

Local search brands seeking to capitalize on the trend are looking to mobile to extend consumer reach and attract incremental ad dollars. Joining YELLOWPAGES.COM within the past six months, Idearc's Superpages, R.H. Donnelley's DexKnows and Yellowbook's Yellowbook.com have all released iPhone applications.

Deborah Eldred, Director, Mobile and Personalization for R.H. Donnelley concludes that "The mobile medium is an ideal fit for local directories... we have seen a significant increase in queries specific to visiting a local establishment, as people are looking for information about where to eat and what to do when they are out and about... they look to a trusted brand to provide the confidence that consumers need... "