Big players in the mobile industry want prime positioning in the future of smartphones and operating systems. Nearly thirty percent of U.S. mobile subscribers own smartphones that run full operating systems, according to the October 2010 statistics reported by The Nielsen Company, a figure that will continuously increase over time.

In the U.S. mobile market, 70.3% are using feature phones, while 29.7 percent are using smartphones. Of the smartphone users, 27.9 percent are using Apple iPhone OS. It’s closest competitor is RIM’s BlackBerry OS at 27.4 percent, followed by Android OS at 22.7 percent, then Microsoft Windows Mobile at 14 percent, Symbian OS at 3.4 percent, Linux at 3.3 percent and Palm OS at 1.3 percent.

Those looking to update their existing smartphone operating systems are keen on Apple (I can personally attest to that sentiment), with 30 percent looking to Apple iOS, followed by Android at 28 percent, then BlackBerry at 13 percent. Among the feature phone owners planning to get a smartphone, 25 percent were not sure what their desired OS will be. Those ages 55 and above showed strong uncertainty of their next OS landing at 27.8 percent, compared to the younger ones ages 18-24 with only 12.2 percent.

There’s also some interesting gender roles playing out here, with women looking to Apple, and men to Android devices.  Apple and Android devices and operating systems are winning the preference of upgraders, with Apple showing a slight lead compared to Android, specifically among ages 55+, 18 to 24, and 25 to 34. Women prefers the iPhone as their next device, while slightly more men prefers Android.

Millennial Media’s recent S.M.A.R.T. report also showed similar results for OS preferences. Apple and Android are taking the lead as the most desired operating systems.  But while Android OS is showing dominance, it is also causing frustration because of unending update issues.  While Google works on the next iterations of its mobile operating system, consumers are souring over its current fragmentation and constant upgrade requirements (and troubleshooting).