Verizon now owns 33% of the US iPhone 4 market

Since its February debut, the Verizon version of the iPhone 4 has captured about 32 percent of the U.S. market, according to a Thursday report.

Analyzing U.S. iPhone 4 traffic, mobile app analytics firm Localytics found that summer has been kind to Verizon and the iPhone. The carrier's iPhone 4 share remained roughly the same throughout the spring, but saw growth in May and June.

The Verizon iPhone 4 launched on February 10 and in its first week, it captured 20 percent of the market, Localytics said. That increased to 22.4 percent in March, 24.9 percent in April, 25.9 percent in May, 28.7 percent in June, and 32.3 percent in July, the firm said in a blog post. Verizon does not offer earlier versions of the iPhone.

Localytics speculated that Verizon's gains were related to the impending demise of its unlimited data plan. On July 7, Verizon ditched unlimited data in favor of several tiered options: $30 for 2GB per month, $50 for 5GB, and $80 for 10GB. Existing customers, however, can keep their unlimited data plans, even if they upgrade, so anyone who signed up for a Verizon iPhone (or any other Verizon smartphone) before July 7 joined the unlimited club.

AT&T dropped unlimited data last year, but also allowed existing customers to retain their current account settings.

Of course, there's also the chance that some people were sick of waiting for a new iPhone. When the Verizon iPhone was released, many stuck with AT&T or held onto their old phones in the hopes that Apple would release the iPhone 5 in June. Apple, however, used its annual June event to talk iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, and rumors abound as to when Cupertino will actually drop its next-gen iPhone 5.

"Although various outlets reported on response to the Verizon iPhone launch being lackluster, the network has managed to pull together a very respectable segment of the iPhone-using market," Localytics wrote. "With rumors swirling about the iPhone 5 perhaps launching in September on multiple carriers, Verizon's recent market share gains may be a precursor of what is to come this fall."

This article, written by Chloe Albanesius, originally appeared on PCMag.com and is republished on Gear Live with the permission of Ziff Davis, Inc.