BlackBerry Curve holds off iPhone 3GS for top spot
updated 08:15 am EST, Wed November 25, 2009
BB Curve tops in US but makes prices fall
The BlackBerry Curve line fended off the iPhone 3GS to claim the title of top-selling phone in the US, the NPD Group said this week. Without providing numbers, the analysts noted that RIM's basic QWERTY phone still outsold the high-end iPhone during the summer. The iPhone 3G reached third place and reflected its relatively low price.
The study added that Verizon's Buy One Get One (BOGO) promo was in large part responsible for the Curve's sales edge as it shipped two BlackBerries, usually Curves, for the price of one. The deal simultaneously dropped the average selling price of a phone from $88 in summer 2008 to $85 a year later.
About 28 percent of cellphones sold in the US were smartphones, NPD Group noted. Among conventional phones, LG was the leader as the enV3 and enV Touch, also from Verizon, were the top sellers in the category.
Market share is potentially set to change in the fall as the launch of the Motorola Droid, the end of the BOGO deal and holiday sales are likely to skew results.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
RIM must be giving all their
smartphones away. Everytime RIM increases their market share by getting more smartphones in circulation, their stock price goes down further. Their BOGO tactics don't seem to be fooling investors. This once mighty powerhouse of a company seems to be hitting the skids slowly, but surely. Android-powered handsets are going to undercut all the competition and just flood the market. Google sure is a slick company. By giving away Android for free, they're quickly killing off the other mobile OSes.