Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 11 November 2008 01:48
IT Industry -
Market
Page 1 of 2
In a breathtaking rise since its release just 18 months ago, the iPhone has climbed over Motorola's RAZR V3 and a host of other cellphones to become the top selling consumer handset in the US.
Since its initial announcement at Macworld in January 2007, a sceptical world has wondered whether Apple could play successfully in the billion handset a year mobile phone space. The world now has its answer.
The latest in NPD Group's quarterly surveys shows Apple's iPhone 3G was the leading handset purchased by adult consumers in the US during 3Q08.
The RAZR had been the top handset for the previous 12 quarters.
"The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD.
The top selling phones in the US for the third quarter were:
Apple iPhone 3G
Motorola RAZR V3
RIM BlackBerry Curve
LG Rumor
LG enV2
The survey provides some evidence that the economic problems affecting the US started to bite the mobile industry during the quarter. While the average selling price of handsets rose six percent year-on-year to $US88, the number of handsets sold declined by 15 percent to 32 million units with revenue down 10 percent to $US2.9 billion.
It seems that if people are buying a new phone, it's likely to be a relatively sophisticated model. "Four of the five best-selling handsets in the third quarter were optimized for messaging and other advanced Internet features," said Rubin.
What else did Rubin have to say, and what features are US consumers looking for when they buy a phone? See
page 2.
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