SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Technology tracking firm NPD on Monday said Apple's iPhones are the mobile handset of choice for US consumers.
The report comes on the heels of studies showing that iPhones have taken the place of BlackBerry handsets as second-best selling mobile telephones worldwide and are half as likely to break down as the Research-In-Motion devices.
Nokia remains the mobile phone market leader worldwide.
US sales of iPhone 3G models in the third-quarter of this year topped those of former market-leader Motorola RAZR mobile telephones for the first time, according to NPD.
"The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality," NPD director of analysis Ross Rubin said in a release.
"Four of the five best-selling handsets in the third quarter were optimized for messaging and other advanced Internet features."
BlackBerry Curve models made by Canada-based RIM were the third most popular mobile telephones among US buyers in the third-quarter, according to NPD.
Sales of iPhone 3G models have rocketed since the touch-screen, motion-sensing devices geared for high-speed wireless Internet networks hit the market in July with starting prices of 199 dollars per handset.
Global sales of iPhones more than quintupled between September of last year and the end of the same month this year, according to a report released by technology industry research firm Canalysis.com.
IPhones outsold BlackBerry devices worldwide during the three months that ended October 1. Apple iPhones had 17.3 percent of the market and were closing ground on Nokia, which held 38.9 percent, Canalysis reported.
BlackBerry sales were 15.2 percent of the global mobile phone market in the quarter, according to the Britain-based research firm.
Worldwide shipments of smart phones, mobile telephones with wireless Internet capabilities, in the third quarter of this year hit a new peak of 39.9 million, according to Canalysis.
While discussing Apple's recent-quarter with investors last month, the California firm's chief executive Steve Jobs pointed out "Apple beat RIM," calling it a "remarkable milestone."
Apple got more good news in the form of Square Trade Research findings indicating iPhones are half as likely as BlackBerry devices to break down in their first year of use.
Square Trade determined that iPhones had a 5.6 percent "failure rate" as compared with 11.9 percent for BlackBerry devices.
"Apple's extraordinary success with the iPhone has not come without complaints and skepticism," Square Trade said in its report.
"Shortly after both the 2.5G and 3G launches, hundreds of users expressed grievances with the iPhone in online forums and blogs, with abundant reports of users plagued by hardware and software problems.
Apple launched the first generation iPhone in June of 2007.
source-http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ikhzYjwkTowqOjPkXXehiHDUSRNg
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