Smartphones taking over US market: study

Nearly half of US mobile phone owners have smartphones, with adoption of Internet-linked handsets rocketing in the past year, according to findings released on Thursday by the Nielsen research firm.

The number of telecom subscribers with smartphones increased 38 percent to account for 49.7 percent of the handset market by February, Nielsen reported.

Devices powered by Google-backed Android software were the most popular, accounting for 48 percent of smartphones owned, while about a third of the people had Apple iPhones, according to Nielsen.

Blackberry smartphones made by Canada-based Research In Motion accounted for 11.6 percent of the market, but buying patterns in recent months indicated people were more interested in Android devices or iPhones.