NPD Group's Latest Smartphone Rankings Put BlackBerry Curve Ahead Of iPhone 3G
by Dave Clarke
May 5, 2009
Yes, you read that headline right. The NPD Group, the industry leader in market research just released their Q1 2009 smartphone sales rankings and believe it or not but Apple's iPhone 3G was not the best selling smartphone in the United States during this past quarter; the BlackBerry Curve was. The iPhone came in a strong second place and the analysts attribute this to the massively popular BlackBerry promotional effort done by Verizon Wireless in the first quarter which included the "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" BlackBerry special. Here is the list of the Top 5 Best Selling Smartphones in the US for the first quarter of this year:
1. RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
2. Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
3. RIM BlackBerry Storm
4. RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
5. T-Mobile G1
Of course, when a company has a Buy 1 Get 1 Free promotion, sales are going to be brisk. Combine that fact with the phones being offered for free included almost any BlackBerry and you've got a formula for success. The third quarter rankings for this year I think will be quite a different story however, given the fact that Apple will have released their next generation iPhone which by all indications is going to be nothing short of a blockbuster hit that not even a Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer will be able to compete with.
