Three out of ten (29.7 percent) of mobile subscribers in the United States now own smartphones according to October 2010 data from The Nielsen Company.

The research giant says the most popular smartphones are the Apple iPhone and RIM Blackberry, which each have 27 percent of the smartphone market followed by Android phones which have twenty-two percent of the market.

Although RIM is tied with Apple for the popular smartphone now, its future does not seem as bright as Apple's or Google Android phones.



When Nielsen asked mobile phone users looking to upgrade to their first smartphone in the next years what operating system they "most desired," Apple’s iOS and Android came out at the top at 30 and 28 percent respectively. RIM was the most desired by just 13%.

Among current smartphone users who plan on getting a new smartphone, Apple was preferred by 35 percent of respondents, followed by Android (28 percent), RIM Blackberry (15 percent) and Windows Mobile (4 percent). Seventeen percent said other or were not sure.

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