Android powers past BlackBerry

RESTON, Va., May 6 (UPI) -- Google's Android overtook Research In Motion's BlackBerry as the smartphone of choice for American users, comScore researchers said.

Google's Android gained 6 percentage points, pushing the device to 34.7 percent in the smartphone operating system segment, surpassing Research in Motion's BlackBerry, which dropped 4.5 points to 27.1 percent in the first quarter. The Apple iPhone gained 0.5 percent, rounding out the Top 3 operating systems among smartphone users, said comScore, an Internet marketing research company in Reston, Va.

The report indicated 72.5 million people in the United States owned smartphones in the first quarter, a 15 percent increase from the preceding quarter.