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One out of every five smartphones sold in the U.S. in the second quarter included 4G connectivity of some kind, and the jump to 22% of the smartphone market is up from just 3% in the same quarter last year. New data released by market research firm The NPD Group on Wednesday highlights the booming popularity of high-speed 4G-enabled devices from major carriers in the U.S. Sprint started the craze with its HTC EVO 4G smartphone in 2010, and other carriers have followed suit with a barrage of HSPA+ and LTE-equipped smartphones. Read on for more.

“In the year since the debut of the EVO 4G, the number of 4G smartphone models has exploded,” NPD executive director Ross Rubin said in a statement. “Carriers have great incentive to promote handsets that showcase their network investments and command premium data rates. 4G is ushering in the era of video on the go.” The firm’s report also found that HTC was the overwhelming market leader in the second quarter, accounting for 62% of all 4G smartphones sold in the U.S. Samsung followed with 22%, Motorola was responsible for 11% of sales and LG sat in the No. 4 spot with just 4% of the market. The NPD Group’s full press release follows below.

The NPD Group: One in Five Smartphones Sold in Q2 2011 Were 4G-Capable

HTC emerges as the 4G-smartphone market share leader, while Sprint has highest share of smartphones on 4G.

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, October 10, 2011 – According to The NPD Group, a leading market research company, more than one in five smartphones purchased in the second quarter (Q2) of 2011 were capable of running at 4G speeds. Sales of 4G smartphones reached 22 percent of overall smartphone sales, up from only 3 percent of smartphone sales a year ago. “In the year since the debut of the EVO 4G, the number of 4G smartphone models has exploded,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “Carriers have great incentive to promote handsets that showcase their network investments and command premium data rates. 4G is ushering in the era of video on the go.”

According to NPD’s monthly “Mobile Phone Track” service, following are the top four smartphone 4G manufacturers (OEMs), based on consumer sales in Q2 2011:

1. HTC: 62%
2. Samsung: 22%
3. Motorola: 11%
4. LG: 4%

HTC remains far and away the 4G-smartphone-share leader, comprising 62 percent of the 4G-smartphone market. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2011, the company also had the top three best-selling 4G-smartphone models on three different carriers: EVO 4G, Inspire 4G, and Thunderbolt. Sprint boasts the highest percentage of 4G smartphone sales; and is the only carrier for which 4G handsets comprised the majority of smartphone sales. NPD considers smartphones to be 4G if they support LTE, WiMAX or HSPA+ with downlink speeds of 14 Mbps/s or greater.

“Carriers have chosen to market 4G with different tradeoffs for handsets,” said Rubin. “While HSPA+, for example, has not achieved the fastest wireless speeds in the market, it has allowed carriers to build portfolios quickly with benefits for form factors, battery life and price.”

The information in this press release is from “Mobile Phone Track” – NPD’s consumer tracking of U.S. consumers, aged 18 and older, who reported purchasing a mobile phone. NPD does not track corporate/enterprise mobile phone purchases.