Verizon: 9.8 Million Smartphones Activated During Holiday Quarter

First AT&T hinted at some pretty huge iPhone sales numbers, now Verizon Wireless is also teasing their upcoming financial reports. The largest carrier in the U.S. is reporting that they activated 9.8 million smartphones from October through December. During the same period last year, the company activated 7.7 million smartphones. In a note to federal regulators, Verizon says there was a “higher mix of smartphones,” sold during the holiday quarter. We really don’t know what this means, and won’t until the company announces real numbers on Jan. 22. Still, it does suggest that Verizon could be headed to their best year ever in terms of smartphone sales. Earlier this week, AT&T said that they had their “best-ever” sales of Apple and Android smartphones during the fourth quarter of 2012. The No. 2 cellular provider in the U.S. says that they sold a record 10 million smartphones during the holiday quarter. This topped their previous record of 9.4 million smartphones sold during the fourth quarter of 2011. AT&T releases their official numbers on Thursday, Jan. 24. This will be a day after Apple announces their own earnings.