Apple gains in US smartphone market: Report

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Industry tracker comScore on Friday reported that Apple gained ground in the United States (US) smartphone market, nibbling into the lead held by handsets powered by Google's Android software.

Apple's share of the US smartphone market climbed nearly three percent to 39 per cent in the first three months of this year, making the California company the most popular handset maker in the country, according to comScore.

The Android platform that Samsung, HTC, LG and other manufacturers use to power devices still reigned supreme, but its overall share of the US market slipped 1.4 per cent to 54 per cent, comScore reported.

Smartphones powered by Microsoft Windows software rose a smidgen to three per cent of the market, while the portion held by BlackBerry devices slipped more than a percent to 5.2 per cent, according to comScore.

South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung remained the second most popular smartphone maker with 21.7 per cent of the US market, followed by HTC, Motorola and LG with 9 per cent, 8.5 per cent, and 6.8 per cent respectively.

The number of US smartphone owners climbed nine per cent to 136.7 during the quarter, comScore reported.

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