Android just pulled ahead of Apple in market share among smartphone platforms last fall, according to comScore.

The metrics firm estimated that Google grabbed 26 percent of the U.S.’s 61.5 million smartphone subscribers in November 2010. That’s up 6.4 percent from three months earlier. In contrast, Apple’s iOS held steady at about 25 percent while the other platforms, including RIM, Microsoft and Palm declined.

comScore’s statistics stand in contrast to rival firm Nielsen’s, which reported earlier this week that Apple still holds the top spot among smartphone OSs even though Android is catching up quickly.

Android also helped Samsung extend its lead over other manufacturers, boosting its share to 24.5 percent from 23.6 percent three months earlier. The other device makers, LG, Motorola, RIM and Nokia, all declined. In fact, mobile analytics firm Flurry had an informative post yesterday about how Samsung’s wave of devices supporting the Google OS has grabbed the device maker a quarter of the Android market.