Apple Inc. (AAPL) Makes New Progress in Smartphone Market

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) continues to get raked over the coals by investors, analysts, the media and competitors. However, if the latest comScore data is any indication, consumers – the most important indicator of a company’s success – aren’t listening to all of the negativity and are supporting Apple and the iPhone as well or better than any other smartphone.

Apple Inc. has expanded its market share in the U.S. smartphone market, both by operating system and handset brand, based on the most recent survey by comScore that looked at the U.S. market over a three-month average through February. In this report, Apple has grabbed a bigger share of the handset market since the last report in November, upping its share from 35 percent to 38.9 percent, stretching the lead over Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which moved from 20.3 percent to 21.3 percent. The other three of the top-five handset makers – HTC, Motorola and LG – all lost market share, from a combined 27.5 percent in November to 24.5 percent in February.

In the other major smartphone category, the operating system, the Apple Inc. iOS cut into the lead of the Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android OS since the last report in November. While Android still handles more than half of the market, the share has dropped from 53.7 percent to 51.7 percent, and the iOS by Apple has closed the gap from 18.7 percentage points to 12.8 points behind with the jump from 35 percent to 38.9 percent of the market. The BlackBerry OS by Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) dropped from .3 percent to 5.4 percent, while the Windows Phone OS by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has improved slightly from 3 percent to 3.2 percent.

Overall, comScore noted, the U.S. smartphone market has grown since November, up 8 percent to 133.7 million handsets.

What are your thoughts about this? Can Google Inc. and Samsung hand on as viable competition for Apple Inc, or will Apple continue to defy the negativity and continue its market momentum? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.