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 July 2011.

The comScore study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 25.5% market share. Google Android continued to gain ground in the smartphone market reaching 41.8% market share.

Approximately 82.2 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in July 2011, up 10% from the preceding three month period. Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 41.8% market share, up 5.4 percentage points. Apple strengthened its number two position with 27% of the smartphone market, up one percentage point from the prior reporting period. RIM ranked third with 21.7% share, followed by Microsoft (5.7%) and Symbian (1.9%).

For the three month average period ending in July, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top original equipment manufacturer with 25.5% of U.S. mobile subscribers (up one percentage point), followed by LG with 20.9% share and Motorola with 14.1% share. Apple strengthened its position at number four with 9.5% share of mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five with 7.6% share.