In the US, 63 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the 25-34 age demographic own smartphones, according to a new survey from Nielsen. Apple is the most popular hardware manufacturer, producing 23 percent of all smartphones, but Android takes the top operating system title with 43 percent of the market.

About 18 percent of those aged 65 years and older are now using smartphones, up from 12 percent a year ago. Some 30 percent of those aged between 55 and 64 are now smartphone users, up from just 17 percent this time last year.

Other metrics from the report include:

• 43 percent of all US mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone.
• Apple's iOS has 28 percent of the operating system market, with BlackBerry in third at 18 percent.
• In the 18-24 and 35-44 demographics, the smartphone penetration rate is around 54 percent.
• In the 12-17 year-old and 45-54 year-olds demography, the adoption rate is 39 percent.
• Smartphone penetration among 55-64 rose 5 percent this quarter.
  

The new metrics show a rapidly shifting marketplace for smartphone companies. Most notably, RIM's smartphone market share has declined one percent since July; in total, RIM dropped a drastic 24 percent from February of this year. The company's declining popularity in healthcare was noted by MobiHealthNews in September, but RIM was recognized recently for its technology's important role in disaster relief efforts.

Want to read stories as soon as they are posted? Follow MobiHealthNews on Facebook.
On Twitter? Be sure to follow MobiHealthNews for up-to-the-minute news and industry analysis.

Read more about the Nielsen survey here.