ComScore (http://www.comscore.com), a company that “measures the digital world,” has released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending May 2011.

Approximately 77 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in May 2011, up 11% from the preceding three-month period. Google Android ranked as the top operating system with 38.1% of U.S. smartphone subscribers, up 5.1 percentage points. Apple strengthened its #2 position with 26.6% of the smartphone market, up 1.4 percentage points. RIM ranked third with 24.7% share, followed by Microsoft (5.8%) and Palm (2.4%).

The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.8% market share. Google Android led among smartphone platforms with 38.1% market share.