US smartphone ownership hits 60 percent, Apple still the market leader

With U.S. consumers steadily migrating to smartphones, Apple's iPhone seems to be the popular choice, with iPhone ownership increasing from 35 percent in Q4 2012 to 42 percent in Q4 2013.

Samsung's Android phones also saw an increase in ownership going from 22 percent of smartphones owned in Q4 2012 to 26 percent in Q4 2013.

The report released by the NPD Group, a market information and advisory group, saw U.S. smartphone penetration hit nearly 60 percent in the last quarter of 2013, up from 52 percent in Q4 2012.

But not many consumers seem to be lining up to get their hands on the latest HTC, Motorola, or Blackberry devices, as all three companies saw their market shares drop.

It goes without saying that having a smartphone means getting a data plan, for checking Facebook and Twitter feeds on the go, and consumer data consumption has risen from 5.5 Gb to 6.6 Gb per month.

It appears music apps have been one of the drivers for this increased data usage. Pandora continues to be the leader in a growing and competitive market, followed by iHeart Radio and Spotify.

[NPD Group]