Mobile Payment Magazine

35 Million Phones Sold in 2011 Can Make NFC Mobile Payments

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According to a new report by IMS Research, a leading independent supplier of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry the number of Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled phones shipped in 2011 totaled 35 million globally. IMS Research forecasts that significant market events and the enablement of other cellular handsets will drive that number to nearly 80 million by the end of 2012.

“After seven or so years of false dawns and frequent disappointment, 2011 has proved to be something of a breakthrough year,” says Don Tait, senior analyst at IMS Research. Most of the leading cellular handset manufacturers have launched NFC-enabled handsets over the last 12 months. They include Samsung, RIM, Nokia and HTC. Apple is the main player yet to release an NFC-enabled handset.”

As well as a stream of launches of NFC-enabled handsets in 2011, there have also been an increasing number of joint ventures and collaborations between different players of the NFC ecosystem. Significant examples include:

  • The launch of Google Wallet in the US
  • The French Government funding NFC in the following cities in France (Paris, Bordeaux, Caen, Lille, Marseille, Rennes, Strasbourg, Toulouse and Nice). Orange plans to sell 500,000 NFC-enabled cellular handsets in France by the end of 2011
  • Orange UK and Barclaycard’s “Quick Tap” contactless payment solution, which was launched in May 2011 in the UK. Retailers that have signed up to this service includes McDonald’s, EAT, Pret-a-Manger and Boots.

Looking forward to 2012, the market for NFC looks even more promising. Sales of NFC-enabled cellular handsets are projected to accelerate during the next twelve months to reach 80 million handsets. Additionally, showcase events such as the Summer Olympic Games in London will help to promote the technology and its benefits. For instance, NFC will be available at the Olympic Park, with Everything Everywhere, Telefonica UK, Visa Europe and Samsung involved in the project. The launch of the ISIS-initiative in Austin Texas and Salt Lake City in Utah in the first half of 2012 will also boost the profile of NFC.

Source: IMS Research

Mobile Industry Predictions Report: 2012

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The Yankee Group has just released its free 17-page 2012 Annual Predictions Report, which looks into what the future has in store for the ever-growing mobility landscape.

Overview:

The world is in transition and in the year ahead, mobile will be both the protagonist and the subject of this instability. During the last five years, networks and the information they carry have plugged more than 2 billion new participants into the mobile economy. The winners in this landscape will be those players that can scale quickly and treat each user as a unique customer.

Report Highlights:

  • The mobile gold rush is global in scale a and touches all customers. In the last five years, 2 billion new users joined the mobile revolution. Looking ahead, mobile workers and consumers will embrace tablets, mobile content and personal cloud services. At the infrastructure level, the operator imperative to monetize all-IP networks will drive investment in policy solutions.
  • Asia-Pacific takes the lead in tablet sales. Yankee Group forecasts U.S. tablet sales will total 17 million in 2011 and almost 25 million in 2012. Similarly, tablet sales in all of Europe will exceed 15 million in 2011 and reach more than 26 million in 2012. And tablet sales in the Asia-Pacific region will total 20 million this year and reach almost 39 million in 2012, more than 50 percent above the U.S.
  • Diameter signaling is taking off. Yankee Group has seen significant request for proposal/request for information (RFP/RFI) activity and expects spending on IP-based Diameter signaling to more than double between 2011 and 2012—growing from U.S.$22 million to U.S.$45 million. And overall, we see the market mushrooming to U.S.$212 million in 2015, for a whopping CAGR of 57.2 percent.
  • Personal cloud services are hitting the high-growth phase. We forecast 17 percent of professionals with three or more devices will adopt a personal cloud service for online storage, backup and synching.
  • Economic woes threaten operators. Western European operators will see churn increase from approximately 2.3 percent per month today to 2.4 percent by the end of 2012, despite operators’ ongoing efforts to migrate customers to postpaid services and long-term contracts linked to new smartphone purchases. The world is in transition and in the year ahead, mobile will be both the protagonist and the subject of this instability. During the last five years, networks and the information they carry have plugged more than 2 billion new participants into the mobile economy. The winners in this landscape will be those players that can scale quickly and treat each user as a unique customer.

For more information and to download the report: 2012 Annual Predictions Report: Mobile

Alternative Payment Channels Report

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Research and Markets has released a new report on Alternative Payment Channels, which have changed the way consumers pay for goods and services and have paved the way for tapping into the unbanked sector across the world.

The report gives detailed insight into the huge variety of alternative payment channels currently available, and is a must for all industry stakeholders.

Key industry statistics have been compiled to give a holistic view of the major markets such as the US, UK, Italy, Germany, India and China, with a special emphasis on the opportunities available in emerging markets.

The report is largely structured into four major sections:

The alternative payment channels market: The most commonly adopted modes of payment and the emerging and niche payment channels. Further, the section also entails a detailed coverage of key drivers of alternative payments and its contribution towards financial inclusion of the unbanked sector.

Technology and infrastructure: The technological and infrastructural developments driving the innovation within the alternative payment market.

Developed markets overview: Coverage of the positioning of alternative payment channels in the developed regions, especially North America and Europe.

Emerging and developing economies: Insights pertaining to market potential/ opportunities and the growth of alternative payments. The section lays particular emphasis on the consumer spending habits regarding payment methods.

Read this report to:

  • Gauge the current market status of alternative payment channels
  • Access previously unpublished data on the alternative payments market
  • Identify the trends and innovations propelling the growth of alternative payments
  • Gain insight into technology and infrastructure supporting electronic payments
  • Scan the trends in developed markets and the opportunities in the emerging markets
  • Learn from the major players and their product portfolios
  • Analyse the overall market potential for alternative payments

The global payments market continues to evolve to a large extent due to the boom in ecommerce and in the mobile payments market. While traditional payment methods have evolved over a long period of time, developed and emerging economies are increasingly adopting alternative payment methods, which promise to provide the consumers with the ability to undertake low cost transaction in a safe and convenient way. New and innovative payment services have become faster, cheaper, more secure and practical, and better integrated to customer systems and processes.

Changing consumer spending habits and preferences, growing awareness among consumers regarding the different payment instruments available and the constant development of technology are the key factors driving the growth of alternative payments. Payments are moving from cash based to cash-less transactions, to customer not present transactions. While online payment services or e-commerce are more prominent in developed economies owing to the high penetration of internet, mobile payments have a considerable reach in emerging economies like India, China, Brazil, Kenya, etc as there are more mobile phones than bank accounts in these countries. According to the Bank of Finland’s Payment Habits and Trends Report, trends in the EU worth highlighting include the following:

  • non-cash payments are replacing cash payments
  • electronic payments are replacing paper-based payments
  • self-service is replacing branch banking
  • use of debit cards has grown faster than use of credit cards, but this may change
  • direct debits are developing slowly

These changing trends are creating opportunities for established as well as start up companies offering a plethora of alternative payment instruments. Companies like PayPal, Alipay and Google Checkout are facing severe competition from new entrants like Boku, Inkfruit, Giropay, Obopay, Zong, Gaia (a gaming and social networking site) etc. New entrants are coming up with innovative, convenient and cost effective payment options, for example Boku which offers its customers the ability to buy digital goods and services using their mobile number, and where the charge shows up in the mobile bill (either a pre-paid or monthly bill). Even banks are focusing their efforts on promoting internet and mobile banking to keep up with the competition, and retain their market share. The online and mobile payment market is expected to undergo substantial growth with even some government institutions supporting the development of alternative payment channels across various sectors.

Additionally, innovation in technology has paved way for greater competition from non bank payment service providers. The alternative payment services and technologies offered by these companies will allow consumers to make online purchases, buy virtual goods and currencies, and make personal and commercial payments etc. Though a large number of payments are still made by cash and cards, a sizable number of payments made online are via alternative payment instruments.

Payments habits are largely influenced by a country’s social-economic and technical factors. So the developed markets represent a well established consumer based for e-commerce. Among developed countries Japan is the most mature market for mobile payments, while Europe is exploring the benefits of e-commerce with SEPA promoting the use of online banking in EU regions. The US market is quite structured and mature for alternative payments but the use of mobile payments is still at nascent stage. By contrast mobile payments is forecast to grow at a slower pace in the US, as introducing mobile payments require a considerable investment in infrastructure. Here the ratio of benefits to costs is extremely low in the short run. Not only is the payment market more mature in developed economies, but the percentage of unbanked or under-banked section is also quite low.

Emerging economies represent a great opportunity for mobile payments, largely due to a much higher proportion of mobile phone ownership compared with bank accounts. Among the BRIC nations Russia is way ahead with regards to e-payments, reaching an 84% penetration level by 2002. In India the retail sector is still dominated by cash transactions, but consumers are gradually moving towards cashless transactions. Banks in India are doing their best to promote mobile banking in urban as well as rural areas. With an aim to promote cashless transactions the government there is launching some major programmes like UFID, a voucher schemes for public distribution stores. Another factor for growth of e-payment in India is increased internet subscription and access to computers on a daily basis. The internet subscriber base in India has reached 16.2 mn in 2010, a year on year growth of 19.5%. One of the bottlenecks for growth of alternative payments is China, and the contrast here between the low internet penetration rate in rural China which stands at 5.1% against 21.6% in urban areas. However, the mobile penetration rate in China is high which suggests a strong foundation for the growth of mobile payments as an alternative means of payment.

Developments in IT are another major factor driving the growth of payments channels. The growth of near-field communication technology (NFC) provides completely new interfacing possibilities, with the bandwidth of long distance wireless communication fulfilling any payment service needed at a very low cost.

Several new and important technological developments in the areas of internet and mobile banking integration, customer interfaces, and providing e-invoicing support and increased data content are under consideration or in the development stage.

Additionally, a number of companies are coming out with new and improved mobile handsets, which have all the features necessary to become the physical payment instruments of the future, and which can deliver innovative services such as e-ticketing.

With these developments will come the necessity for the standardisation of alternative payment channels and the demand to improve cross border payments processes and services. Innovative payment solutions coupled with changing consumer preferences, and the introduction of favourable payment laws are expected to drive the market for alternative payments globally.

For more information or to purchase the report, please visit: Research and Markets

Consumer Adoption of Mobile Banking Jumps Nearly 60% in 2011

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After two years of flat growth, consumer mobile banking jumped from 19% to 30% in 2011, corresponding to a rise in Financial Institutions’ offering mobile banking and an increase in consumer smartphone ownership, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. The triple play–mobile banking via SMS text, mobile browser, and downloadable apps–is emerging as the new norm, with four out of five vendors now offering it. However, security remains a top concern, as almost half of consumers cite fear of security as the main reason they do not use mobile banking.

“Mobile banking, once considered a ‘nice-to-have’, is now a ‘must-have’ for Financial Institutions who want to stay competitive and meet growing consumer demand for this channel,” notes Mary Monahan, Executive Vice President and Research Director, Mobile, at Javelin. “Our research provides key insights into how industry trends will shape mobile banking and what steps FIs and vendors need to take to stay ahead of these changes.”

Vendors seeking market leadership will also need a thorough understanding of how to incorporate these trends into the development of their solutions. For example, the mobile banking industry is consolidating, with players bringing mobile technologies in-house. Tablet adoption by consumers is growing at a tremendous rate, and FIs and vendors will need to provide access to mobile banking specifically designed for tablet users. Javelin also identified those operating systems that vendors will need to support, as well as the mobile banking features that consumers want.

“The results are in,” said James Van Dyke, President, Javelin. “Fiserv, FIS and Sybase received the highest scores. Fiserv won “Best in Class”, while mFoundry won “Path to Mobility”. With all these industry changes, it will be interesting to see how vendors fare in next year’s report.”

The findings were published in Javelin Strategy & Research’s latest research report — “2011 — 2012 Mobile Banking Vendor Scorecard: Mobile Banking Has Moved from a “Nice-to-Have” to a “Must-Have” Channel” — analyzes best practices and top trends in this rapidly shifting industry and reveals the best mobile banking solutions available today. Javelin scored the offerings of 15 major vendors, using data from surveys conducted with more than 10,000 consumers and executive interviews with six financial institutions (FI). The report provides strategic guidance to FIs for development of their mobile banking strategies and selection of vendors and key insights on critical features and functionality for vendors when designing the next versions of their solutions.

Javelin highlights a number of trends which will significantly affect mobile banking for FIs, vendors, and consumers.

Selected Key Report Findings — 2011 — 2012 Mobile Banking Vendor Scorecard

  • In-depth individual profiles and detailed comparisons of 15 mobile banking vendors
  • The operating systems vendors will need to support and why
  • How tablets will alter mobile banking forever

Source: Business Wire

New Report Focuses on NFC and Mobile Payments Landscape

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There is much buzz around the growth of mobile payments in the United States, with predictions that it will hit $214 billion by 2014, according to Aite Group.  But which of the many possible approaches — including integrated NFC, non-integrated contactless, bar codes, cloud-based solutions, and text messaging — is the best choice?

The Smart Card Alliance today released a white paper entitled, “The Mobile Payments and NFC Landscape: A U.S. Perspective.”

The white paper provides an overview of the current state of the market for mobile payments and NFC-enabled payment applications in the U.S., and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of different mobile payment approaches.

“Technology is always changing, especially within the mobile and payments industries, so it is difficult to predict when and how mobile payments will become commonplace in the United States,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “The goal of this white paper is to help industry stakeholders understand the current mobile payments landscape, anticipate how mobile payments are likely to change, and appreciate the opportunities that mobile payments, and particularly NFC-enabled mobile contactless payments, present.”

Some of the topics covered in this snapshot of mobile payments include:

  • A description of the different types of mobile financial applications in use today
  • Discussion of the different mobile payments approaches with implementation examples
  • A summary of the merchant, consumer, issuer, and mobile operator requirements for NFC mobile proximity payments and the attendant benefits
  • An update on the status of Near-Field Communications (NFC) mobile proximity payments infrastructure
  • Evaluation of how different mobile payment approaches fulfill overall market requirements

Payments Council members involved in the development of this white paper included: Accenture; American Express; Apriva; Bank of America; Capgemini; Capital One; Connexem Consulting; CPI Card Group; Datacard Group; DeviceFidelity; Discover Financial Services; Gemalto; Giesecke & Devrient; Heartland Payment Systems; Infineon Technologies; INSIDE Secure; JPMorgan Chase; LTK Engineering Services; MasterCard Worldwide; NACHA; NagraID Security; NXP Semiconductors; Oberthur Technologies; Quadagno & Associates; Thales e-Security; WatchData Technologies USA; VeriFone; Visa Inc.; ViVOtech; and Mike Kutsch; Dale Laszig; and Chandra Srivastava.

Source: MarketWire

Mobile Commerce Solutions and Market Opportunities Report

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Mobile commerce is exploding with solutions, applications, and services driven by emerging technologies, use cases, and business models. M-commerce is quite different from traditional e-commerce as the ecosystem and value chain are more dynamic and are evolving in a different manner than e-commerce as a whole. Research and Markets recently release a report entitled “Mobile Commerce Solutions and Market Opportunities,” which bundle is the most comprehensive research covering the market for mobile commerce solutions and market opportunities. The report addresses all key aspects of mobile commerce including contactless payments via NFC and other methods, the relationship between digital advertising and commerce, the effect of social networks and location on commerce, advanced technologies for commerce, and more.

Audience:

  • Mobile Network Operators
  • Mobile Software Developers
  • OSS/BSS Solution Providers
  • Handset and Tablet Manufacturers
  • Mobile Payment Service Providers
  • Content and Applications Aggregators
  • Mobile Marketing and Advertising Providers
  • Telecommunications Infrastructure Providers

Key Topics Covered:

  • Mobile Social Commerce: Social Media + Mobile Commerce Creates Market Opportunities
  • Google + Social Commerce: Evaluating Opportunities and Business Issues
  • Top Revenue Mobile Commerce Applications 2011-2016
  • Where is the Money in Near Field Communications?
  • Mobile Commerce 2011
  • Mobile Local Search 2011 Location-based Search Market
  • Mobile Value Added Service (VAS): Markets, Applications, and Opportunities
  • Near Field Communications (NFC) Markets: Challenges, Opportunities, and Market Forecast to 2016
  • M-Banking Markets and Opportunities
  • The 2011 Ultimate Guide to Location Based Services and Applications
  • Mobile Proximity and Location Based Advertising within Reach
  • Mobile Wallet: Location-based Commerce and Peer-to-Peer Payments
  • Mobile Marketing & Advertising: Challenges and Opportunities
  • Commerce on the Go: Mobile Payment Systems and Solutions
  • Mobile Marketing & Advertising: Challenges and Opportunities
  • Digital Signatures in Mobile Commerce
  • Local Search Meets Social Search

NFC-enabled Point of Sale Ready to Explode, Says Report

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Hosted POS Revenue Projections - AITESeeking to sell hardware and grow revenue, the major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)—VeriFone, Ingenico, and Hypercom—have developed and begun to implement business strategies that will drive near-field-communication (NFC) technologies into general availability in the United States, opening the door for a variety of new mobile marketing solutions enabled at the POS.

The current inflexibility of transaction-routing infrastructure ensures that existing authorization infrastructure will be unable to handle the new transaction types created by these marketing solutions. This will force the rapid evolution of a new set of hosted transaction-gateway and terminal-management solutions, with revenue opportunities for gateway providers approaching US$0.35 billion annually by 2015. Payments firms that miss the move will take a hit; merchant acquirers, independent sales organizations (ISOs), gateways, processors, and payment networks must develop a strategy that ensures delivery of flexible and centrally hosted POS environments.

A new report from Aite Group projects the deployment of mobile-capable hardware, software, and transaction-routing capabilities necessary to enable point-of-sale-integrated mobile marketing solutions and mobile payments in the United States. Based on more than 50 Aite Group interviews with industry stakeholders conducted from April through July 2011, the report also details the transformation of today’s point-of-sale (POS) infrastructure into tomorrow’s mobile environment.

“Current trends in the payments industry are driving a more complex point-of-sale infrastructure that will require POS services to be offered as hosted monthly services,” says Rick Oglesby, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of this report. “The POS terminal itself may soon become more similar to a cable TV box, opening a portal to a wealth of services to be accessed at the point of transaction. For payments companies, an opportunity exists to be the cable company itself, aggregating the various services in a gateway model and simplifying the way in which services can be accessed.”

Source: Aite Group

Global Mobile Payment Transactions to Reach $945 Billion in 2015, Says Report

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The gross value of global mobile payment transactions will reach $945 billion in 2015, about a 30-fold increase from the comparable figure of $31.5 billion for 2010, according to IE Market Research (IEMR). The surge underscores IEMR’s expectation that mobile payments are positioned to become mainstream between 2012 and 2014. IE Market Research, a Canadian-based provider of market intelligence services, recently released its Q3 2011 report entitled “Global Mobile Payment Market Forecast 2011- 2015.”

“M-commerce and mobile contactless transactions, driven by their allure of convenience, are poised to promote ‘less-cash’ societies all over the world,” said Nizar Assanie, Vice President (Research) at IEMR. “Our usage surveys reflect a trend of mobile payments growing commonplace in the Western world, corroborated by the fact North American and Western European markets are geared up for the beginning stages of a full-fledged adoption of the digital wallet.”

IEMR’s Global Mobile Payment Market Forecast covers annual forecasts of mobile payment users, transactions by technology (NFC, SMS, WAP, USSD), and by type of purchase (merchandise, digital products, ticketing, mobile money transfers, bill payments, and pre-paid top-ups). The report is based on IEMR’s Global Consumer Telecommunications Survey of 50,000 mobile users in 50 markets worldwide. It is the most extensive country-specific forecast of its kind.

IEMR’s latest report illustrates a declining trend in SMS transactions relative to the growing adoption of NFC technology in developed markets, particularly Western Europe and North America. NFC offers the potential “sweet spot” of access to millions of retail point-of-sale terminals, a transaction technology that SMS falls short of.

The report also found that mobile payments are promising in emerging markets because of the dearth of wired infrastructure, which makes purchase transactions with a mobile device convenient.

According to IEMR, there were 1.5 billion NFC transactions globally in 2010. It forecast the comparable figure to jump to 55.3 billion in 2015, a compound annual growth rate of 105.2%.

Source: Business Wire

Research Report: 2011 Contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) Mobile Payments

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Javelin Strategy and Research has release a new report entitled “2011 Contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) Mobile Payments: Framing Mobile Payments on the Foundation of Mobile Banking.”

Mobile payments have been the source of much excitement for over half a decade, with the latest focus being on near field communication (NFC) payments, which uses short-range wireless technologies to allow a consumer to tap or wave a supporting mobile phone to complete an in-store payment.

Late 2010 experienced a flurry of NFC-related mobile payments announcements, detailing pilot initiatives from numerous financial institutions (FIs), payment networks, mobile phone carriers, technology giants, and third-party developers.

Despite this activity, mobile contactless/NFC is a payment option that is battling limited availability of contactless-ready merchant terminals and mobile technology, as well as low consumer demand. In order to ensure the greatest opportunity for success, FIs should integrate NFC mobile payments with their existing mobile banking platform. Javelin data shows that mobile bankers are the prime financial demographic to jumpstart mobile payments, and FIs should promote the service accordingly.

Primary Questions

  • What is the current state of the contactless payment market, and how has it changed from recent years?
  • What are the key drivers preventing consumer adoption of contactless payments?
  • How should FIs integrate mobile contactless pilots within their existing financial infrastructure, and who should the target demographic be?
  • What are some of the current NFC programs in market today?
  • What is the demographic makeup of today’s contactless payment population, and how can that information be utilized to boost mobile NFC adoption?
  • How can FIs establish the value proposition of NFC among merchants, in an effort to increase merchant acceptance of the service?

Report Index

  • Overview
  • Primary Questions
  • Methodology
  • Executive Summary
  • The State of U.S. Contactless and Mobile Commerce
  • The Consumer Roadmap to Mobile Payments
  • Mobile Banking as the Springboard for Mobile Contactless Payments
  • Demographic Trends – Who Are the Likely Mobile Contactless Users of Today?
  • Mobile Contactless Payments: The Proverbial Chicken and the Egg Dilemma
  • Appendix
  • Related Research
  • Companies Mentioned

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Mobile Payments Ecosystem
Figure 2: Percent of Consumers Who Indicate That They Are Open to Using a Contactless-Enabled Card or Device, 2007-2010
Figure 3: Key Drivers Preventing Contactless Adoption, by All Consumers
Figure 4: Consumer Adoption Roadmap to Mobile Payments
Figure 5: Likelihood of Storing Credit or Debit Card Information on Mobile Phone to Complete a Mobile Payment, by Mobile Bankers and All Consumers
Figure 6: Factors That Drive Contactless Use, by Mobile Bankers and All Likely or Current Contactless Users
Figure 7: Last Time Made Purchase Using Mobile Device, by Mobile Bankers and All Mobile Phone Owners
Figure 8: Frequency of Mobile Purchasing in the Past Month, by Mobile Bankers and All Mobile Phone Owners
Figure 9: Average Mobile Purchase Amount, by Mobile Bankers and All Mobile Phone Owners
Figure 10: Desirability of Mobile Phone Functionality, by Frequent Mobile Bankers, Mobile Bankers (Past 90 Days), and All Mobile Phone Users
Figure 11: Likelihood of Using Mobile Contactless, by Gender, Generation, and All Consumers
Figure 12: Likelihood of Using Mobile Contactless, by Ethnicity and All Consumers
Figure 13: Likelihood of Using Mobile Contactless, by Smartphone Owners, Standard Mobile Phone Owners, and All Consumers
Figure 14: Likelihood of Responding to Mobile Marketing Coupons or Promotions, by All Mobile Contactless Users and All Mobile Phone Owners
Figure 15: Percent of Consumers Who Have Used Particular Contactless Payment Devices, 2009-2010
Figure 16: Likelihood of Using a Contactless-Enabled Card or Device, by Mobile Bankers and All Consumers
Figure 17: Average Times Per Month Consumers Use a Particular Payment Option Per Month for In-Store Purchases
Figure 18: Likelihood of Using Mobile Contactless, by Income and All Consumers
Figure 19: Likelihood of Using Mobile Contactless, by iPhone Owners, BlackBerry Owners, and Android Owners

More information: 2011 Contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) Mobile Payments

comScore Reports U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share for July, 2011

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comScore, Inc. has released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending July 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.5 percent market share. Google Android continued to gain ground in the smartphone market reaching 41.8 percent market share.

OEM Market Share

For the three month average period ending in July, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.5 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 1.0 percentage points), followed by LG with 20.9 percent share and Motorola with 14.1 percent share. Apple strengthened its position at #4 with 9.5 percent share of mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 7.6 percent share.

Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Apr-11 Jul-11 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Samsung 24.5% 25.5% 1.0
LG 20.9% 20.9% 0.0
Motorola 15.6% 14.1% -1.5
Apple 8.3% 9.5% 1.2
RIM 8.2% 7.6% -0.6

Smartphone Platform Market Share

82.2 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in July 2011, up 10 percent from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 41.8 percent market share, up 5.4 percentage points. Apple strengthened its #2 position with 27.0 percent of the smartphone market, up 1.0 percentage points from the prior reporting period. RIM ranked third with 21.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft (5.7 percent) and Symbian (1.9 percent).

Top Smartphone Platforms
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011
Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
Apr-11 Jul-11 Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Google 36.4% 41.8% 5.4
Apple 26.0% 27.0% 1.0
RIM 25.7% 21.7% -4.0
Microsoft 6.7% 5.7% -1.0
Symbian 2.3% 1.9% -0.4

Mobile Content Usage

In July, 70 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 1.2 percentage points. Browsers were used by 41.1 percent of subscribers (up 2.0 percentage points), while downloaded applications were used by 40.6 percent (up 2.8 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 2.1 percentage points to 30.1 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 27.8 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.6 percentage points), while 20.3 percent listened to music on their phones (up 2.3 percentage points).

Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2011 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Apr. 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Apr-11 Jul-11 Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A
Sent text message to another phone 68.8% 70.0% 1.2
Used browser 39.1% 41.1% 2.0
Used downloaded apps 37.8% 40.6% 2.8
Accessed social networking site or blog 28.0% 30.1% 2.1
Played Games 26.2% 27.8% 1.6
Listened to music on mobile phone 18.0% 20.3% 2.3

 

Source: comScore