Android continues to hold the lead among all smartphone users, with 46.3 percent of all smartphone owners surveyed in Q42011 reporting they have an Android-based mobile phone.

As of Q42011, 46 percent of US mobile consumers had smartphones, and that figure is growing quickly. In fact, 60 percent of those who said they got a new device within the last three months chose a smartphone over a feature phone.

For more, check out Nielsen’s Mobile Media Report.

Amazon emerged as the clear category leader among mass merchandiser brands. Seventy-two million visitors, about one in three active web users, browsed the online shopping site in September 2011 for an average of 29 minutes per person. Walmart’s followed as the second-ranked site, where 34.5 million visitors spent an average of 13 minutes per person on the site. Target, Shopathome.com, and Overstock.com rounded out the top five most visited mass merchandiser websites.

Women made up the majority of visitors to both categories of websites. More than three out of four women who were active online visited consumer electronics sites during September 2011, compared to seven out of 10 men. Women were also 7 percent more likely to visit mass merchandiser sites. Young people aged 18-34 were slightly more likely than the general population (4 percent more likely) to visit consumer electronics sites.

For additional insights on consumer electronics and media usage, download Nielsen’s State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report.

For more insights and stats about how consumers use social media, please see Nielsen’s Q3 2011 Social Media Report

For more smartphone market data and insights about how consumer use their mobile devices, please see Nielsen’s Mobile Media Report for 2011.

Hybrid data extends beyond Home and Work PCs, and as a result of these measurement enhancements and the additional sources measured, metrics including Unique Audience, which Nielsen uses to rank the top web brands, witnessed changes in data for July. Therefore July data can not be trended, but moving forward Total Internet Audience data can be trended with previous months’ Total Internet Audience data.

Hybrid measurement combines Nielsen’s online panel, a people-based representative sample employed to measure consumer’s Internet behavior using Home and Work computers, with tag-based data from websites to account for Internet use from any source. Thanks to this hybrid approach, Nielsen’s Total Internet Audience metric includes web browsing activity from all devices, including mobile devices, tablets, secondary PCs and access points outside of home and work locations.

Overall 213 million Americans were active on the Internet in July 2011 from all sources included in hybrid measurement. Internet access through home and work PCs continued to grow to 249 million individuals in the U.S. during July 2011.

Overall web activity increased slightly in May, and among the Top 10 sites Apple witnessed the highest increase in monthly visitors, with more than 5.7 percent more uniques during May. Facebook also increased unique U.S. visitors by 4.7 percent compared to the prior month, with average visitors spending slightly less time (-0.8%) on their website in May.

Over 200 million Americans used their PCs in May 2011, and overall Internet use was up 2.8 percent from April. U.S. consumers also visited more unique sites (2.5%) compared to the previous month, and spent more time online on average (0.8%) in May. Internet access continues to grow during the month, with an estimated 246 million individuals in the U.S. having accessing to the Internet through Home/Work computers in May 2011.

But despite its surge among recent acquirers, when it comes to overall consumer market share, Android OS (25.8%) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6%). RIM Blackberry’s position is less clear: Its share (26.1%) puts it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android. In other words, RIM remains statistically tied with both Apple for first and Android for third. Apple’s clear lead over Android notwithstanding, this race might still be too close to call.

This much is clear, however: All three smartphone OS leaders – Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry and Android – are benefitting from strong demand for smartphones. In November, 45 percent of recent acquirers chose a smartphone over a feature phone.

Any concerns regarding a cannibalistic impact of the iPad on Mac sales, were recently laid to rest by Apple’s Q3 2010 earnings call; the iPhone and the iPad, which run on iOS, led an impressive, best-ever, everything-but-the-iPod, sales quarter. For a closer look at who is buying two of Apple’s most popular devices, we turn to The Nielsen Company’s survey of more than 64,000 mobile subscribers, fielded April through June 2010.

It’s no surprise that iPhone and especially iPad users are trending younger or that iPad and iPhone customers report higher incomes.

Only about 15% of iPad users are more than 56 years old compared to 33% of all mobile subscribers. While we observe a typical increase in users in the 18 to 24 segment, the real shift is in 25 to 36 year-olds. The data is clear: Affluent 25 to 36 year olds are fertile ground for Apple products. As income grows, the willingness and ability to pay for more sophisticated devices increases, too. About 20% of wireless subscribers report earning more than $100,000, but almost 40% of iPad owners fall into that category. Over time, we believe those over 56 age segment could represent a significant growth opportunity for Apple.  While these baby boomers are not known as “early adopters,” they do adopt, and we should not underestimate the appeal of Apple’s products as easily and intuitively usable devices for consuming content and Internet data.

But does owning an iPad make people more or less likely to want to own an iPhone as their next mobile device? While the form factor is significantly different, the data functionality is similar. Nielsen’s research reveals that there is a clear progression in the preference for an iPhone among likely smartphone upgraders the more they have been exposed to the iOS.

Twenty-five percent of likely smartphone upgraders who have not yet owned an iPhone or iPad, indicate that they would purchase an Apple iPhone as their next smartphone. But when we asked iPad owners who do not have an iPhone this same question, this number more than doubled to 51%. Clearly, exposure to Apple’s iOS creates a very positive pre-disposition to purchasing an iPhone. We see the same effect when comparing current iPhone owners, of whom an industry-leading 85% indicate that they would purchase another iPhone as their next smartphone. And a whopping 91% of likely smartphone upgraders who already own both an iPhone and iPad want an iPhone next.

By creating a whole universe of devices and form factors around iOS – all with the easy-to-use interface design Apple is known for — Apple has created a mutually-reinforcing ecosphere that attracts new customers, and convinces them of the virtues of Apple. Being able to share the same applications they purchased on all their other devices free of charge , leads consumers to add more devices from the same universe – and effectively retains them as upgrade customers. Customers have also the added benefit of being able to share the same applications they purchased for one iOS device (iPad, iPhone, iPod) on all their other devices free of charge.

The advent of connected devices, including the iPad and other tablet computers, eReaders like the Kindle and Nook, netbooks, and media players, is clearly changing how consumers engage with media.

While the iPhone has been the headline grabber over the last few years in the smartphone market, Google’s Android OS has shown the most significant expansion in market share among current subscribers. Android’s rise is even more noticeable among new smartphone subscribers in the last six months where Android has nosed past Apple’s iOS in the last quarter to grab a 27% share of those recent smartphone subscribers.

Among current subscribers thinking of switching devices, the iPhone remains the most desired phone, finding loyalty with nearly 90% of current iPhone users and enticing healthy slices of Android users (21%) and Blackberry owners (29%) to consider the move to Apple. Android’s loyalty among switchers (71%) outperforms Blackberry (42%) where half of its users could potentially chose an iPhone or an Android phone for their next device.

Whether it‘s checking email on the go, connecting with friends through social networks or using turn-by-turn navigation, the capabilities of smartphones are convincing more and more consumers to make the leap from a simple mobile phone to a more sophisticated device.  As of Q1 ‘10, Nielsen data shows that 23% of mobile consumers now have a smartphone, up from just 16% in Q2 ‘09.

Vying for their share of the smartphone market are two of the tech industry’s fiercest competitors:  Apple, with its iconic iPhone, and Google, with its fast-growing Android operating system.

Between Q4 ’09 and Q1 ’10, Android and iPhone’s share of the smartphone market grew by 2% each. At the same time, smartphone leader Blackberry lost 2% share to fall to 35% of all smartphones while Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS also lost 2% to fall to 19%.

Although Android and iPhone users both skew male (Android users show a 54/46 gender split compared to iPhone’s 55/45), there are some striking differences. Android users tend to be slightly younger than their iPhone peers- 55% of Android users are under the age of 34 — while just 47% of iPhone users fall within the same demographic. As is usually the case, age is also a prime determinant of income and education, with Android users slightly less wealthy and less educated.

Perhaps what sets iPhone and Android apart from the rest of the field of smartphones is operating system loyalty. 80% of iPhone users want their next device to run iPhone OS while 70% of Android users want another Android device. This is in stark comparison to other major smartphone players: only 47% of Blackberry users want another Blackberry while only 34% of Windows Mobile users want another Windows Mobile device.

Among Android and iPhone users who would like to switch operating systems, the rate at which Android users would like to try iPhone is twice as high as that of iPhone users who would try Android. Given that iPhone penetration is three times that of Android, more iPhone consumers are willing to try Android.

Finally, usage profiles for Android and iPhone are more like each other than the rest of the smartphone market. With a broader selection of titles available to them, predictably iPhone customers are more likely to have downloaded a game or played online, but Android users appear to be using their phones for a wide range of activities as well. Android users were more likely to engage in file-transfer activities like downloading ringtones, pictures, wallpaper and uploads.

Key Stats

• 21% of American wireless subscribers have a smartphone at Q4 2009, up from 19% in the previous quarter and significantly higher than the 14% at the end of 2008
• 14% of mobile subscribers have downloaded an app in the last 30 days
• Average number of apps: Smartphone: 22, Feature phone: 10
  • BlackBerry: 10
  • iPhone:37
  • Android: 22
  • Palm: 14
  • Windows Mobile: 13

Who is downloading what?

• Games are the most downloaded – both free and paid
• Facebook, Google Maps and Weather Channel are the most popular apps across smartphones
  • iPhones: Facebook (58%), iTunes (48%), Google Maps (47%)
  • Android: Google Maps (67%), Facebook (50%), Weather Channel (38%)
  • Blackberry: Facebook (51%), Google Maps(34%), Weather Channel (28%)

• Social Networking: Facebook clearly favorite app, but MySpace is hugely popular among teens; LinkedIn attracts adults 25-44
• News/weather: Weather Channel was used by 58%; age distribution across sites was similar, save for Time Mobile and Thomson Reuters
• Shopping: Amazon and eBay lead (57% and 41%)
• Search/Map: skew male, particularly Instamapper (80/20)
• Video/Movie: skewed towards males; Imeem and Moviefone show a higher proportion of young users
• Music: iTunes, Pandora, Sirius XM appeal more to males, while Yahoo Music almost evenly split (51/49)