New data released by the NPD Group reveals that more U.S. consumers are adopting smartphones, with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Samsung (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android phones continuining to dominate 68 percent of the mobile market.

Apple Samsung NPD Group
Smartphone ownership continues to grow, but Apple and Samsung maintain the lionshare Courtesy/NPD Group

According to the data gathered from the NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence “Connected Home Report,” smartphone penetration increased from 52 percent in Q4 2012 to 60 percent of cell phone users in Q4 2013.

While Apple and Samsung maintain the largest share of smartphone users, Apple continues to hold a significant lead as its ownership base grew from 35 percent in Q4 2012 to 42 percent in Q4 2013. While Samsung has also grown its share of smartphone users, it still maintains a smaller share with an increase to 26 percent in Q4 2013, a four percent increase from its 22 percent share in Q4 2012.

On the other end of the spectrum, HTC (TWSE:2498), Motorola, LG (KRX:003550), Blackberry (NASDAQ:BBRY) and other smartphones continue to carry a much smaller individual market share versus Apple and Samsung.

According to NPD, the “Smartphone Usage Report” uses data from an on-device meter called a “SmartMeter” that “provides the equivalent base of 4,500 smartphone users.”

Apple-centric news site, MacRumors notes that NPD Group uses a similar “installed user base” methodology as Comscore, who also placed Apple at 41.2 percent marketshare in Q4 2013.

Along with the increased smartphone penetration reported by NPD, data usage has also grown significantly from Q4 2012’s 5.5 GB per month to Q4 2013’s 6.6 GB per month, with music streaming apps such as Pandora (NYSE:P), Spotify, and iHeart Radio contributing to data usage.

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