Samsung extends lead in U.S. mobile market

WASHINGTON —

Samsung extended its lead as the top mobile phone maker in the U.S. market and Apple moved into second place. A survey by comScore showed that in the three-month period ending in October, South Korea’s Samsung was the top manufacturer with 26.3% market share, up from 25.6% in the prior period.

Apple, which sells only smartphones, moved into second place in the U.S. market for the first time, with a 17.8% market share, up 1.5 percentage points. South Korean maker LG was third at 17.6%, followed by Motorola at 11%. 

The survey showed Google’s Android system gained ground as the leading smartphone platform, with 53.6% of the market, up from 52.2%. Apple’s iOS platform for its iPhones remained in second place, and gained 0.9 points of market share to 34.3%. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion saw its share slip further from 9.5% to 7.8% in the period. And Microsoft, which released its Windows Phone 8 platform in late October, saw its share dip to 3.2% from 3.6%.

The survey found 121.3 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones, or 51.9% of the mobile market.