Today the market research firm NPD has reported that the iPhone 3G is the leading handset purchased by adult consumers in the U.S. during the third quarter of the year. This development has put the previously top-ranked Motorola RAZR in the number two spot.
The Motorola RAZR had previously occupied the number one spot for the past three years followed by the Motion's Blackberry Curve, LG's Rumor, and LG's enV2, respectively.
The director of industry analysis for NPD, Ross Rubin, has said:
"The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality," and that "Four of the five best-selling handsets in the third quarter were optimized for messaging and other advanced Internet features."
Although sales of the iPhone have increased, the mobile phone market as a whole has failed to see its typical holiday jump following the close of the second quarter; domestic handset sales to adult consumers has dwindled by 15 percent year over year in the third quarter to only 32 million units. Also, consumer handset sales total revenue dropped by 10 percent although the average selling price rose 6 percent to $88 per handset.
Rubin further explains:
"A growing data divide continues in cellular handsets, those who see the value in wireless Internet access are justifying the investment, whereas voice-centric users have little incentive to upgrade, which is obviously detrimental to operators who seek to sell data plans and media access services to their subscribers."
NPD collects their data from online surveys every month that are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. adult consumers age 18 and over.
It's difficult to tell exactly how consumers will react if the economy continues its current down trend. Executives for the major U.S. wireless operators do believe that consumers are not likely to downgrade their cell phones as a result. However, executives agree that they are more likely to downgrade service plans.
Source:
AppleInsider | iPhone trumps RAZR as most purchased US consumer handset
11-10-2008, 07:59 PM
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