• Nielsen, Thursday, June 30, 2011 11:31 AM

To the delight of mobile advertisers and branded app-makers everywhere, smartphones are fast making features phones obsolete. Indeed, according to new Nielsen data, 38% of domestic mobile consumers now own smartphones, while 55% of those who purchased a handset in the past three months reported buying a smartphone instead of a feature phone -- up from 34% just a year ago. Simply put, "Smartphones continue to grow in popularity," according to Nielsen.

In particular, "Android continues to be the most popular smartphone operating system, with 38 percent of smartphone consumers owning Android devices." That said, while Android also leads among those who recently purchased a new smartphone, it's actually the Apple iPhone that has shown the most growth in recent months, Nielsen points out.

Regardless of the operating system, publishers and advertisers are no doubt thrilled over the rapid rise of smartphones. That's because, unlike feature phones, smartphones can support the most advanced forms of digital advertising, as well as branded applications.

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