May 4th, 2009
BlackBerry Curve outsells Apple iPhone in Q1 2009
An aggressive “buy-one-get-one” promotion by Verizon Wireless helped RIM’s BlackBerry Curve move past Apple’s iPhone to become the best-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2009, according to market research firm The NPD Group.
RIM’s consumer smartphone market share increased by 15 percent to nearly half of the entire smartphone market in Q1 2009 versus the prior quarter. Apple’s and Palm’s market share both declined 10 percent each.
The first-quarter 2009 ranking of the top-five best-selling smartphones is as follows:
- RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
- Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
- RIM BlackBerry Storm
- RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except “Flip“)
- T-Mobile G1
Note that the Storm is right on the iPhone’s tail, despite early problems with consumer opinion of the device. Verizon’s aggressive marketing of the Storm and its buy-one-get-one promotion to a larger customer base than competing carriers helped RIM fill three of the five top positions.
Smartphones represented 17 percent of handset sales volume in Q1 2008 and now make up 23 percent of sales.
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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