iPhone 4S Closing the Gap on Android – Neilsen Survey

According to the latest research from Nielsen, the high-profile launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S last Fall had an enormous impact on the proportion of smartphone owners opting for an Apple iPhone.

The market reasearch firm found that among recent acquirers – those who said they got a new device within the past three months – 44.5 percent of those surveyed in December said they chose an iPhone compared to just 25.1 percent in October, and it’s mostly about the iPhone 4S. The report says 57 percent of new iPhone owners surveyed in December say they got an iPhone 4S.

Android continues to hold the lead among all smartphone users, with 46.3 percent of all smartphone owners surveyed in Q42011 reporting they have an Android-based mobile phone, but Apple is closing the gap in second place with 30 percent market share.

The survey also tracked Research in Motion’s smartphone market share continuing its meltdown over the past three months, with BlackBerry OS usage dropping to fewer than 15 percent of U.S. smartphone users in the quarter, a sharp decline from 20 percent in Nielsen’s previous survey.

Neilsen notes that as of Q42011, 46 percent of US mobile consumers had smartphones, and that figure is growing quickly. In fact, 60 percent of those who said they got a new device within the last three months chose a smartphone over a feature phone.

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