comScore Reports March 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

Samsung, Motorola and LG in Dead Heat in OEM Subscriber Market Share

RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period ending March 2010 compared to the preceding three-month period. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and mobile operators in the U.S. according to their share of usage by current mobile subscribers age 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber’s primary mobile phone. The March report found Samsung, Motorola and LG separated by a mere fraction of a percentage point of market share among handset manufacturers, while Verizon led among mobile operators with 31.1 percent market share.

OEM Market Share
In the 3 month average ending in March, 234 million Americans age 13 and older were mobile subscribers, with device manufacturer Samsung ranking as the top OEM at a 21.9 percent share of U.S. mobile subscribers, inching out Motorola by a fraction of a percent. LG (21.8 percent share) ranked closely behind them, with RIM (8.3 percent share) and Nokia (8.3 percent share) rounding out the top five.

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Top Mobile OEMs
3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009
Total U.S. Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
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Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Dec-09    Mar-10    Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers     100.0%    100.0%         N/A
Samsung                       21.2%     21.9%         0.7
Motorola                      23.5%     21.9%        -1.6
LG                            21.9%     21.8%        -0.1
RIM                            7.0%      8.3%         1.3
Nokia                          9.2%      8.3%        -0.9
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Mobile Operator Market Share
In a ranking of the top mobile operators in the U.S. during the 3 month average ending in March, Verizon led the market with 31.1 percent of mobile subscribers. AT&T ranked second with 25.2 percent market share, up 0.2 percentage points from the period ending December 2009. Sprint narrowly grabbed the #3 position with 12.0 percent market share, closely trailed by T-Mobile (12.0 percent), while Tracfone gained 0.3 points to capture 5.1 percent of the market.

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Top Mobile Operators
3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009
Total U.S. Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
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Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
Dec-09    Mar-10    Point Change
Total Audience: 13+ yrs old     100.0%    100.0%         N/A
Verizon                          31.2%     31.1%        -0.1
AT&T (Cingular)                  25.0%     25.2%         0.2
Sprint                           12.1%     12.0%        -0.1
T-Mobile                         12.1%     12.0%        -0.1
Tracfone                          4.8%      5.1%         0.3
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Mobile Content Usage
In an average month during the January through March 2010 time period, 63.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device, up 0.6 percentage points versus three months prior. Browsers were used by 30.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 2.6 percentage points), while subscribers who used downloaded applications made up 28.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points). Access of social networking sites or blogs continued to increase, posting gains of 2.8 percentage points to 18.7 percent of mobile subscribers.

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Mobile Content Usage
3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Dec. 2009
Total U.S. Age 13+
Source: comScore MobiLens
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Share (%) of U.S. Mobile Subscribers
Dec-09    Mar-10    Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers                   100.0%    100.0%        N/A
Sent text message to another phone          63.1%     63.7%        0.6
Used browser                                27.5%     30.1%        2.6
Used downloaded apps                        26.0%     28.6%        2.6
Played games                                21.6%     21.8%        0.2
Accessed social networking site or blog     15.9%     18.7%        2.8
Listened to music on mobile phone           12.1%     13.2%        1.1
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