Android platform's smartphone market share exceeds 50%

Google’s Android platform reached a new milestone in February: The platform gained a majority share of the nation’s smartphone market, according to the latest monthly report from metrics company comScore Inc. 

Android’s market share rose to 50.1 percent in the three months ending in February, up 3.2 percentage points from the three months ending in November and 17 percentage points since February 2011.

Meanwhile, the market share of Apple’s iPhone platform rose to 30.2 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from the three months ending in November and 5 percentage ponts from February 2011. Combined, Google and Apple accounted for just over 80 percent of the smartphone market in February.

The market share of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry declined by the same amount Android gained, 3.2 percentage points, to 13.4 percent.

Microsoft also lost ground: down 1.3 percentage points to 3.9 percent of the market. Symbian’s market share was flat at 1.5 percent.

Overall smartphone ownership among U.S. mobile subscribers 13 and up rose 14 percent in the three months ending in February, to more than 104 million people. That’s about 44 percent of all U.S. mobile subscribers.