Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system may be facing lawsuits on multiple fronts, but it’s still the top draw in the U.S., according to comScore.
The research firm estimates that 78.5 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ended in June 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period.
Thanks to its ubiquity across multiple carriers and hundreds of handsets, Android represented 40 percent of over 30,000 mobile phone users surveyed by the researcher in June, an uptick from 38 percent through May. In second place, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS maintained its 26.6 percent from comScore’s last report.
The report comes days after Canalys put Android at 48 percent market share worldwide, with Apple iOS commanding 19 percent around the globe.
The Android and iPhone will soon see another chapter in their always-interesting war when Samsung launches its Galaxy S II handsets with Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZW), AT&T (NYSE:T), and Sprint (NYSE:S) this summer. Samsung already sold more than 5 million of these new phones in less than 90 days.
Apple is expected to follow in September or October with the iPhone 5, featuring a speedier processor, new body design and, of course, iOS 5. Canalys Vice President and Principal Analyst Chris Jones said the iPhone 5 would help Apple fortify its strong position in the second half of 2011.
Research in Motion’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberry platform continued its fall, dropping to 23.4 percent from 24.7 percent in the last period. The phone maker hopes to get a boost later this month when it launches new smartphones based on its Blackberry 7 OS platform.
The new devices include updates of the BlackBerry Torch and Bold, along with the Torch 9850/9860, which only feature touch-screens. When it unveiled BlackBerry 7 OS at Blackberry World in April, RIM claimed the device features faster browsing, smoother navigation and voice-activated universal search, among other features.
Still, media and pundits remain unimpressed by these devices at a time when Android smartphones and annual iPhone refreshes have set the bar for touch-screen-enabled smartphones. Most people are waiting for the QNX OS-based superphones due in early 2012.
Microsoft Windows remained at 5.8 percent for the month, a sign the platform, even with the new Windows Phone 7 platform, isn’t yet gaining traction. Canalys estimated that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shipped less than 1.5 million smartphones in Q2 for only a 1 percent global market share.
Microsoft believes that will change once smartphones running its “Mango” update become available this fall.