• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, October 6, 2010

Fresh data underscoring Android's remarkable growth seems to come in almost every day now. The latest research, from comScore, shows that the Google mobile platform's share of the mobile market leapt from 13% to 19.6% in the three months ending in August, compared to the prior three-month period.

Android gained ground on all of its major competitors as BlackBerry-maker RIM's market share slipped four percentage points to 37.6%, Apple dipped slightly to 24.2%, and Microsoft dropped from 13.2% to 10.8%. Palm is down to 4.6%.

The comScore figures come a day after Nielsen reported that Android is the most popular mobile operating system among people who have bought smartphones in the last six months. Nearly a third of recent buyers are getting Android-based phones compared to about 25% each for the iPhone and BlackBerry.

Similar to comScore, Nielsen estimated Android's overall market share at 19%, but had a somewhat larger estimate of Apple's share, at 28%, while attributing 31% to BlackBerry. Either way it's more good news for Google and more unwelcome news for RIM, as its leading share of the U.S. smartphone market continues to slide. Apple also has a battle on its hands maintaining its second-place share against the Android surge.

But the company may get a new weapon in its arsenal against Google in the smartphone wars, with a new report saying Apple will begin mass producing a new iPhone model by year's end that would allow Verizon Wireless to start selling the device in early 2011. The Wall Street Journal article, citing people briefed by Apple, said the new model would be similar to the iPhone 4 but compatible with Verizon's CDMA wireless network technology.

Of course, stories and speculation about a Verizon iPhone have become a regular feature of the frothy mobile news landscape. And recent statements by Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg expressing frustration with Apple for not teaming with the carrier seemed to cast doubt on an imminent iPhone from Verizon.

But there's been a steady stream of reports suggesting Apple is building a CDMA-capable iPhone, which would point directly toward striking a deal with Verizon to carry its flagship device. There's little question a partnership with the country's largest wireless operator could help both companies expand their customer bases.

And with Apple executives reading every other day about Android's explosive growth, the company has to feel more pressure to partner with other carriers besides AT&T. It's seen firsthand how Google has profited from making Android available on phones from multiple manufacturers and operators. Apple may stick with making its own phones, but it can certainly open up the iPhone to more carriers.

One trend benefiting all smartphone players is growing mobile content use, according to a new comScore report. More than a third (34.5%) of cell phone subscribers now browse the Web, 32.3% use downloaded apps, 23% play games, and 22.5% access social networking sites or blogs. Text messaging remains the most pervasive activity, with two-thirds of cell users thumbing mobile keypads.