Google's Android operating system took a slight dip after the holiday shopping season but still remains the most popular operating system in the United States, according to newly released data from comScore.

The new comScore report reveals that Android was the operating system of choice in the United States with a 51.7 percent market share. The number of smartphone subscribers using Android, based on a three-month average ending January 2014, fell half a percentage point from the three-month period leading up to October 2014. Apple's iOS, meanwhile, gained 1 percentage point between the same periods to end January 2014 with a 41.6 percent market share.

Microsoft came in third with 3.2 percent of smartphone subscribers, while RIM's BlackBerry rounded out the top four operating systems in the United States with 3.1 percent.

According to the comScore report, there are 159.8 million people with smartphones in the United States, resulting in a 66.8 percent mobile market penetration rate and the fact that a little over half the U.S. population now owns smartphones.

The comScore report is based off data from its MobiLens and Mobile Metrix services.

The top smartphone manufacturer based on a three-month average ending January 2014 was Apple, with 41.6 percent of the market (the same number as its iOS market share since Apple only manufactures iPhones, the only smartphone to use iOS). Samsung came in a distant second with 26.7 percent, while LG and Motorola both had a little less than 7 percent. HTC managed to snag only 5.4 percent of the market.

Google websites were found to be the most-visited web properties on smartphones, and Facebook turns out to be the most popular app.

The fact that Google's Android is beating Apple's iOS should come as no surprise. A Strategy Analytics report released in January revealed that Android took home a 78.9 percent market share for smartphones globally in 2013 with a 62 percent growth rate for the year. Apple's iOS, meanwhile, only garnered 15 percent of the smartphone market in 2013.

Last year also marks the first time Android tablets outsold Apple's popular iPad series. Android wrapped up 62 percent of the worldwide tablet market with a little over 120 million total sales. Apple's iPad series sold 70 million for a 36 percent market share. The situation in 2012 was different, when Android only captured 46 percent of the market with 53 million tablets and iOS had 53 percent of the tablet market with 62 million sales.

Android may hit a road bump in 2014 as market saturation and a lack of any meaningful new hardware innovations could open the doors for other operating systems such as Windows Phone and Firefox.

"As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditised, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value -- beyond just hardware and cost -- to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins," writes Gartner research director Roberta Cozza.

"We expect Android's growth to slow further in 2014 due to market saturation, and rivals like Microsoft or Firefox will be ready to pounce on any signs of a major slowdown for Android this year," reads the January Strategy Analytics report detailing Android's 2013 smartphone market share.