DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNHY, 005930.SE) remains the top handset manufacturer, maintaining a 25.6% share of total U.S. mobile subscribers for the three-month period ended in February, according to comScore Inc. (SCOR). The market-research firm's survey of 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers found that LG Electronics Inc.'s (066570.SE) share of cellphone owners dropped to 19.4% from 20.5% during the three months ended November, while the No. 3 handset manufacturer, Apple Inc. (AAPL), increased its share to 13.5% from 11.2%. ComScore said 234 million Americans aged 13 and older used mobile devices during the three-month average period ended in February. Of those subscibers, more than 104 million owned smartphones. Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android saw its smartphone market share jump to 50.1% for the period ended in February from 46.9% in the prior three months. The boost marks the first time in its history that the Google Android captured a majority of the smartphone market. Apple ranked second with 30.2% of the smartphone market, up from 28.7%, while Research In Motion Ltd.'s (RIMM, RIM.T) share fell to 13.4% from 16.6%. -By Melodie Warner, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2283; melodie.warner@dowjones.com
