Smartphones are the popular way to go right now for cell phone users. The possibilities with such a device are endless and people all over the world are finding new things to do with them. Apple's iPhone has long been the reigning champion in the smartphone market but now a new device has dethroned the "king" and taken the spot as number one. According to the Q1 smartphone sales released by the NPD group, Blackberry phones took three out of the top five positions and took out the iPhone 3G from the top spot. This is mainly due to the fact that the Curve is available on the four biggest U.S. cell phone carries and the fact that Verizon is giving a special buy one get one free sale for the Curve. Aside from the Curve, the other top spots were grabbed by the Storm and the G1.
But how did the Curve topple the iPhone 3G? The availability of four major carriers helps, considering the iPhone is still restricted to AT&T. The price is also better than that of the iPhone coming in at $99 with a two-year contract. A trend for Apple which could have helped them get bumped is that RIM's share of the market in smartphones jumped from 15% to a nice 50% whereas Apple saw shares drop 10%.
But who knows? People could be delaying their iPhone buying for both models due to the thought that Apple's new iPhone model may be announced next month. But one shouldn't underestimate the BlackBerry products. Their smartphones are among some of the best on the market with an added boost from low prices and a wide availability of carriers. You can get the Curve on four different carriers for $99 whereas you can only get the iPhone 3G on AT&T for a higher $199. The iPhone is still a good product and it will be interesting to see how the Curve and iPhone do against each other in the upcoming months.
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