The iPhone gets the bulk of the mind share, but in actual U.S. smartphone sales, the iPhone trails not only Research In Motion's BlackBerrys but also now handsets built around Google's Android mobile operating system.That's what ePathChina Group is reporting, based on the market researcher's first quarter 2010 mobile operating system numbers that were released today.
ePathChina says its wireless research reveals that the RIM OS has 36% of the mobile OS market, compared to 28% for Android devices and just 21% for the iPhone. Data is based on unit sales.
ePathChina analyst Andylin says carrier distribution and promotion play a "crucial role in determining smartphone market share." Along those lines, "Verizon Wireless had expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones," Andylin says. Such promotions boosted strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and BlackBerry Curve models.
Among the carriers, AT&T boasted a 32% market share during the period, versus 30% for smartphones that run on the Verizon Wireless network. T-Mobile with 17% and Sprint with 15% lagged behind.
Looking ahead, these are likely to remain interesting times for smartphones. Apple is widely expected to unveil a new iPhone next month and has already previewed version 4.0 of its mobile operating system. Sprint is rolling out so-called "4G" service. What's more, as Andylin points out, "recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry's willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices."
ePathChina says the average selling prices for all mobile phones hit $88 during the first quarter, a 5% climb from the same period in 2009. But smartphones, averaged $151, a 3% decline from the first quarter of last year. Corporate/enterprise sales, a fixture for BlackBerrys, are not included in ePathChina's data.
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