Apple's iPhone OS now commands 28 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, a 2 percent quarter-over-quarter increase, according to new data issued by Nielsen. Android also jumped 2 percent in Q1, and now accounts for 9 percent of U.S. smartphones--the growth of the iPhone and Android platforms came at the expense of Research In Motion's BlackBerry and Microsoft's Windows Mobile, both of which slipped 2 percent in the first quarter.
Nielsen notes that as iPhone and Android continue to gain favor among consumers, their respective user populations are taking on distinct identities of their own. Both iPhone and Android users skew male: Men make up 55 percent of iPhone users in the U.S., compared to 54 percent of Android users. Android owners tend to be younger, with 55 percent under the age of 34, compared to 47 percent of iPhone users. No doubt due to the age discrepancy, Android owners report lower income totals than their iPhone counterparts: 17 percent of Android users earn between $15,000 and $35,000 per year, in contrast with 9 percent of iPhone owners--at the same time, 40 percent of iPhone users report incomes in excess of $100,000, compared to only 28 percent of Android users.
Both iPhone and Android users are loyal to their operating systems--80 percent of iPhone owners surveyed by Nielsen say they want their next device to run the iPhone OS, and 70 percent of Android owners plan to stick with Android smartphones moving forward. Only 47 percent of BlackBerry users plan to upgrade to another RIM device, and only 34 percent of Windows Mobile users plan to remain with Microsoft.
For more on smartphone user trends:
- read this Nielsen blog entry
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