Consumers boost Android smart phone market share, says Nielsen

Over the past three months, 56 percent of those buying a new smart phone selected an Android device, according to figures released Sept. 26 by The Nielsen Company.

The finding, which comes from a survey conducted by Nielsen in August, is important because such recent preferences are often seen as an indicator of where the market might be headed.

With the recent surge in Android ownership, the overall percentage of smart phone owners of Android devices has grown to 43 percent, Nielsen said. Apple iOS now accounts for 28 percent of all smart phones. Similarly, for the most recent three-month period, 28 percent of smart phones purchased were iOS devices.

The latest Nielsen figures also reveal that 43 percent of all mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. had a smart phone as of August. Additionally, 56 percent of those who acquired a new mobile phone over the past three months selected a smart phone over a feature phone.