Apple increased its manufacturer share of mobile devices on the Millennial Media network 14% between February and March 2011, according to (subscription link) the Millennial Media Mobile Mix. Apple held a 32.08% share, compared to 28.3% the previous month.
Samsung Retains #2 Spot, Loses Share
Meanwhile Samsung, which reclaimed the second spot in February with about 50% month-over-month growth to wind up with roughly 23% of the Millennial mobile device market, stayed in second place while decreasing its share almost 35%, to 15.22%. There were no other dramatic month-over-month changes in the list of top 15 mobile device manufacturers.
Apple iPhone Grows Share 17% M-O-M
The Apple iPhone was a key driver of month-over-month growth in Apple’s mobile device market share. The iPhone gained 17% share, retaining the top spot while growing from roughly 16% to 19% market share of individual mobile devices.
The Blackberry Curve jumped from fourth to second place, although its month-over-month market share actually slightly fell. Heavy growth in Apple iPhone use helped offset the dramatic decrease in use of Apple iPod Touch, which fell from number two in February to off the top 30 device list in March.
Smartphones Represent 2 in 3 Connected Mobile Devices
Looking at the types of mobile devices running on the Millennial network in March 2011, smartphones accounted for almost two-thirds (64%), with feature phones (19%) barely more popular than other connected devices (17%).
iOS Slightly Gains in Smartphone Platform Share
Although Android and Apple iOS retained their respective first and second-place rankings in monthly smartphone platform market share figures, Apple iOS gained about 15%, growing its share from 27% to 31%. Meanwhile Android slipped about 6%, from 51% to 48%.
WiFi, Verizon Largest Carriers
All combined WiFi carriers (27%) and Verizon (19%) continued their reign as the two leading mobile carriers on the Millennial network, followed by Sprint-Nextel (12%) and AT&T (11%). About three-quarters of all mobile devices on the network included touchscreen capabilities, as 59% were touchscreen and 17% were touchscreen/QWERTY.
In addition, the top three mobile application categories were games, music/entertainment, and social networking.
Apple Loses Substantial Share YOY
While Apple was also the top mobile device manufacturer on the Millennial network in March 2010 (archived pdf available at subscription link), it held a more dominant 40% market share. This means Apple lost about 20% of its market share year-over-year. Samsung was also in second place in March 2010 with a market share (17%) about 13% higher than in March 2011.
The Apple iPhone and Blackberry Curve were the top two mobile devices in March 2010, with higher share numbers (about 30% and 6%, respectively).
