SAN FRANCISCO-- US smartphone buyers can't wait to get their hands on touchscreen devices, according to figures released Tuesday by industry tracker comScore.

The ranks of touchscreen mobile telephone users led by Apple iPhone lovers swelled to 23.8 million in August, soaring 159 percent during the preceding year, according to comScore.

The overall smartphone market in the United States reportedly grew by 63 percent during that same period to 33.8 million users.

"Touchscreen phones have quickly gained adoption as new devices have flooded the mobile marketplace," said comScore senior vice president of mobile devices Mark Donovan.

"It's clear that consumers are embracing touchscreen interfaces that allow them to easily navigate the increasingly powerful and complex services afforded by new phones."

Donovan expected the popularity of touchscreen mobile phones to continue to climb as more devices, many of them based on Google-backed Android operating systems, hit the market for the prime year-end holiday shopping season.

Apple's coveted iPhone dominated the US market, accounting for 32.9 percent of touchscreen smart phones owned by people 13 years of age or older.

LG Dare and Voyager model mobile phones were second and third place in the market, with 8.7 percent and 7.8 percent respectively, according to comScore.

"The iPhone clearly set the trend in the industry for touchscreen devices, so it's no surprise that it has the largest share of the market," said Donovan.

"But as other players have entered the touchscreen market with compelling devices, competition is clearly heating up."