On Friday, comScore released the latest data from the comScore MobiLens service, which reports key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending December 2011.

The study found that Google Android strengthened its lead in the smartphone market during the period to capture a 47.3 percent market share.

All told, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices during the three-month period ending in December.

97.9 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in December, representing 40 percent of all mobile subscribers.

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According to the latest data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), Apple’s iPhone 4S is picking up scores of new users from rival platforms.

Polling data published this week shows that 36 percent of iPhone 4S buyers previously owned Android, BlackBerry, or Palm devices.

Shaken out, the numbers show that 50 percent of upgraders came from BlackBerry, 39 percent from an Android phone, and 10 percent from a Palm handset.

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On Sunday, the mobile world was rocked by news that embattled smartphone maker RIM is losing two of its top executives.

Research in Motion co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have voluntarily stepped down.

Both men served as co-chief executive officers and co-chairmen of the board. According to details made available late Sunday, the former executives will be replaced by previous Chief Operating Officer Thorsten Heins (new RIM CEO) and Barbara Stymiest (New independent RIM board chair).

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Mobile application developers will soon be able to boast of their own professional industry association.

Spearheaded by former Digital Media Association executive director Jon Potter, the Application Developers Alliance will officially launch next week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The new organization is being hailed as a professional outfit charged with promoting the best interests of mobile developers. The effort will include raising greater education opportunities, providing cloud hosting services, and initiating government lobbying efforts.

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On Tuesday, comScore released released the latest data from its comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending November 2011.

For the three-month average period ending in November, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices.

Incredibly, a record 91.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during that that timeframe, up 8 percent from the preceding three month period.

As always, the study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers.

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New Year’s Eve is going mobile in Times Square this weekend, as LevelUp, a new mobile payment solutions provider, is launching with its first national brand partner, Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen.

On Wednesday it was announced that the new partnership will involve free pizza for anyone hanging out on New Year’s Eve in Times Square, New York City.

“Ready to load up on carbs before those resolutions start?” the team at LevelUp asks. “Noshing on $10 worth of free food on New Year’s — pizza, pasta, Stromboli, salads (if you’ve already started being good) and more — is as easy as paying with your phone.”

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While Canadians are all about microblogging and social media, recent numbers indicate they don’t care much for mobile marketing and advertising.  In fact, there are only 5.2M people in Canada who actively use their Smartphones for browsing and apps according to recent comScore data.

Following this surprising revelation, marketing and research firm Mediative put together a new whitepaper that takes a hard look at the mobile advertising ecosystem in Canada and uncovered some interesting stats and insight.  For example, Canada has a total of 20M residents that own cell phones, of which roughly 7.215M are smartphones.  With such low smartphone penetration, it’s easier to understand why only 5.2M actively use their devices for mobile browsing and apps.

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