U.S. operators top in mobile data revenues, Sharma notes: Samsung likely to be top smartphone manufacturer

The United States accounts for four of the top 10 operators ranked by mobile data revenues in the second quarter, led by Verizon Wireless (VZ), which pulled in $5.8 billion, according to a new report from wireless analyst Chetan Sharma. A combined AT&T Mobility/T-Mobile USA Inc. would give the top two U.S. operators 20% of the world’s mobile data revenues. With Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) in the No. 6 position, and T-Mobile (DTEGY) in the No. 8 position, the United States Is on track to reach $67 billion in data revenues by the end of the year.
In Sharma’s wide-ranging report, he notes that the United States also is tops in text-messaging, with almost 664 messages sent per user per month. The Philippines, which had held the top spot, is seeing a decline in the number of text messages sent as people increase their use of Facebook and other messaging applications.
In other news:
 Smartphones accounted for 55% of devices sold in the second quarter and the United States accounts for 35% of smartphones sold globally. Apple Inc. (AAPL) kicked Nokia Corp. (NOK) from the top spot in the smartphone space but Samsung is likely to top the leader board by the end of the year.
 Looking at other countries, Sharma estimates the effective market-share balance among top three operators is 46%/29%/18%, and expects that to eventually be the case in the United States as well.
 On the platform front, Amazon (AMZN) is introducing some interesting products, Sharma said, while Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) , Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) are struggling to remain relevant.
 Sharma estimates that in the United States and Europe, Samsung is top patent holder, followed by Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, IBM Corp., L.M. Ericsson, Microsoft, Sony Corp., Motorola, Qualcomm Inc. and Siemens.
“All this has setup an absolutely fascinating rest of the year in the communication/computing industry,” Sharma said. “Convergence is everywhere and is leading to a fundamental reset of the value chains and ecosystems. We are likely to see a few more blockbuster marriage proposals before the year is out.”