Apple ends 2013 with a 41.8% share of the U.S. smartphone market

In the US, Apple’s dominance as the top smartphone OEM hit a new high at the end of last year: 41.8 percent. Samsung gained share faster than its main competitor for six months straight, though in December they tied as the Korean company hit 26.1 percent. Rounding out the top five were Motorola, HTC, and LG.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) again added to its lead as the top smartphone manufacturer by market share in the U.S. for the three months ended December and Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android remained the most-used smartphone platform, market-research company comScore Inc. (SCOR) said Tuesday. For the three months ended Dec. 31, 156 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones, up 3% from September. Apple remained the top smartphone maker, with a 41.8% share., an increase of 1.2 percentage points. Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNHZ, 005930.SE) followed with a 26.1%, also up 1.2 points. Google’s Motorola was No. 3, with a share of 6.7%, a decline of 0.1 point.