• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 13, 2011

Weighing in on the coming of the Verizon iPhone, comScore Thursday released a batch of data outlining how the new alliance could alter the mobile landscape. Without predicting exactly how Verizon getting the iPhone will impact AT&T or other companies, it highlighted mobile markets that will be affected by the deal.

As things stand, for instance, Verizon currently leads the U.S. mobile market as the carrier for 31% of mobile subscribers, with AT&T accounting for 27% share. But when looking just at smartphones, AT&T holds a commanding lead with 38% market share, compared to Verizon's 27%. Credit the iPhone factor.

However, with help from an arsenal of Android phones led by the Droid line, Verizon in the last year has closed the gap -- adding 4 percentage points while AT&T has seen its smartphone share decline by 7 percentage points. comScore last week said Android has gone from minimal penetration to holding 26% of the smartphone market, surging just past Apple's 25%.

When it comes to Verizon making further inroads on AT&T through the iPhone, even AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has acknowledged Verizon will grab market share when it start selling the Apple device. Separate survey findings released by research firm ChangeWave Thursday indicated 16% of AT&T subscribers would switch to Verizon to get the iPhone.

"If iPhone users decide to make the carrier leap and switch from AT&T to Verizon, it is likely that Verizon will gain subscribers that represent attractive brand consumers," noted the comScore blog post today on the Verizon iPhone. It noted that iPhone users heavily over-index in marketer-coveted age segments including 25- to 34, 18-24, and 35-44.

They are also 22% more likely than the average mobile subscriber to be male. (That's good, unless you're trying to reach women.) iPhone users also tend to represent higher income brackets, with 81% of users having a household income of at least $50,000 and 47% of users with income of at least $100,000.

On top of that, iPhone users have also been loyal to the Apple brand, with more than half having a subscription for more than three years (54.6%) and 28.2% of subscribers holding their subscription for one to three years. The long-anticipated arrival of the Verizon iPhone will surely provide a stern test of that loyalty. But AT&T's increase of its early-termination fee for the iPhone and other smartphones in May to $325 from $175 will no doubt make current subscribers think twice before leaping to Verizon.