Google's Android and Apple's iOS combined to power 88.7 percent of all smartphones sold to U.S. consumers during the fourth quarter of 2011, according to new data published by Nielsen.

Research In Motion's BlackBerry generated just 6 percent of U.S. smartphone sales in the fourth quarter. Microsoft's Windows Phone and Windows Mobile combined to make up 3.8 percent, followed by Symbian at 0.8 percent and Palm's webOS at 0.5 percent.Android continues to lead all rival smartphone operating systems, making up 51.7 percent of sales during the fourth quarter period, Nielsen reports. Although iOS remains in second place with 37 percent of sales, the release of Apple's new iPhone 4S galvanized customer interest in the platform: 44.5 percent of consumers surveyed in December said they chose an iPhone, compared to just 25.1 percent in October, and 57 percent of new iPhone owners surveyed last month said they acquired an iPhone 4S.

Forty-six percent of U.S. mobile subscribers now own smartphones, Nielsen reports. Sixty percent of consumers who purchased a new mobile device during the fourth quarter selected a smartphone over a feature phone. Looking at the U.S. smartphone market as a whole, Android powers 46.3 percent of devices, trailed by iOS at 30 percent. BlackBerry is next at 14.9 percent, with Windows Mobile at 4.9 percent.