Smart Phones A Majority of Phones in Use for First Time

It's an important milestone: In March 2012, a majority (50.4 percent) of U.S. mobile subscribers owned smart phones, up from 47.8 percent in December 2011. Smart phones have been outselling feature phones for some time, but this appears to be the first time the installed base has featured a majority of smart phone users. 


In the first quarter of 2012, for example, smart phones represented 66 percent of all handset sales, according to NPD. 


Consumers purchasing new phones picked smart phones more often, and among smart phone owners Apple was the top manufacturer of smart phone handsets, while Android was the top smart phone OS, says Nielsen.


In an interesting note, the Nielsen data also shows the importance of smart phones for minority populations, all of whom use smart phones at higher rates than "white" Americans. The reason that is significant is that it is possible mobile broadband is a "more important" method of access for some groups, compared to others. Discussions of "broadband gaps" have to take that into account. 


The point is that "differences" in consumer choice are not necessarily indicative of "supply gaps."