The NPD Group reported yesterday on the current state of the mobile device market and although most of the data wasn’t terribly surprising (iOS and Android still in the lead), there were some surprises to be had.

iOS’s U.S. market share leaped from 26% in the third quarter of 2011 to 43% by the end of November.

NPD says Android clung to the lead by a thread with a 47% market share – down dramatically from 60% in the third quarter of 2011.

NPD’s latest insight suggests that iOS and Android will see a more heated than ever battle in the months ahead to determine the superior smartphone operating system in terms of market share.

The most recent comScore data shows that Android and iOS now power a combined 75.6 percent of all smartphones in the United States.