Nielsen just announced that smartphone penetration in the U.S. market continued to grow in July 2012. Smartphone owners take 55.5% of mobile subscribers, which is a remarkable increase as the data was only 40.1% a year ago. And in May 2012, it’s still 50.4%. You can see how fast smartphone marketing is growing. Well, Nielsen also unveiled an interesting fact that 58% teenagers (ages 13 to 17) own a smartphone now. And it’s only 36% in 2011.

You may be surprised at first as people are more sensitive at price due to the bad economy and smart phones cost much higher than the others. But don’t forget, teenagers are the most active group to accept new technology. Plus, some Android-based devices are designed to target low-end with much cheaper price than iPhone or Samsung galaxy s3. As Apple, Samsung as well as Nokia all planed to launch new flagship phones ahead of holiday season, second hand iPhone 4/4s and Samsung galaxy s2 will soon boost the market with much lower price which can be accepted by parents to afford one for their kids.

Although teenagers lead the growth of the smartphone subscribers in July 2012, the group with most smart phone owners is the young adults group between ages 25 to 34. 74% of them now own a smartphone.