In the battle of the smartphones, RIM’s (s rim) Blackberry Curve edged out the competition to take the top spot as the best-selling smartphone model in the U.S. in the second quarter of this year, according to inaugural smartphone market share data from research firm IDC. Apple’s iPhone 3G S took second place, with the iPhone 3G placing fourth.
With its hard QWERTY keyboard and big screen, the Curve (a longtime favorite of Om’s) has stood the test of time and beat out higher-end competitors such as Apple’s (s appl) iPhone, Palm’s (s palm) Pre and T-Mobile’s G1. Although the iPhone being limited to the less-than-stellar AT&T network likely plays a role in these rankings. But the Curve wasn’t the only RIM BlackBerry smartphone model to place in the top five, as the list below shows. Here are IDC’s top-selling smartphones in the U.S.:
| Top-selling Smartphones in the U.S. |
|---|
| BlackBerry Curve |
| iPhone 3G S |
| BlackBerry Pearl |
| iPhone 3G |
| BlackBerry Bold |
| BlackBerry Storm |
| HTC T-Mobile G1 |
| Palm Pre |
| HTC Touch Pro |
| HTC Touch Diamond |
IDC compiles the list by counting vendor sales to mobile carriers, consumer electronic stores, online retail stores and independent distributors, and excludes counting the sell-through to consumers (so thankfully for Palm, the Pre’s creepy commercials don’t play a factor in the results).
I am trying to make a decision as to buy a blackberry tour verses blackberry curve. Any thoughts on this?
All this talk of numbers of various different phones is misleading. This person has used several BBs in 5 incarnations; the Palm in 2 until both seized; 2 LGs with vastly inferior interfaces, and even several unlocked GSM Nokias and a black market Sony/? from Japan (each with a 3-6 mp camera and other features not available in the US.) NONE could compare to the iPhone in ease of use, bugfree OS, ability to actually work the way I wanted, much less THE ABSENCE OF LOCKUPS! I have had to reboot every other smartphone regularly. The iPhone, NEVER! Moreover, the inability of apps on the PRE to load properly and be accessible was the last straw. I have downloaded over 230 apps so far, having to delete some to use others (160 +/- apps seems to be the current limit) and have NEVER had one that did not work. All the press about AT&T’s problems with the iPhone pale in comparison to the competition. I actually saw a Verizon BB stomped on and destroyed on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center because the owner (my client) could not access his email. When my client was offered the use of an iPhone to check his email, and when he was able to do so in 20-30 seconds, from a foreign carrier (AT&T), I was FLABBERGASTED! Bottom line: I check email in less than 5 seconds, for each of my 6 accounts, ANY time and ANYWHERE, easily. The iPhone detractors, naysayers, and open source believers, loathing closed network restrictions, have missed the boat this time. To freely access the Internet from a wireless device demands error free operation, malware protection, and invisible operation. iPhone ~ competition :: diesel ~ steam engine is the best analogy right now.
#gigaom_iki Love my Curve 8330, but wondering if I should have held out for the Tour.
iPhone 3gs sales in q2 amounted to a total of 13 days !
Yeah, I agree with you on the iPhone 3GS no. of sales days. Additionally, the Pre was only on sale for 24 days. It’s hardly a fair sales comparison since all of the Blackberries were on sale for the entire quarter.
I think Q3 sales may prove more enlightening. This data really doesn’t tell you anything at this point.
How the heck did the storm make it that high up.. Lol. It’s TERRIBLE I have it and I’m currently on my 4th one. There aren’t many apps for it and if you do have an app( I have like 6), it just takes one to slow your phone down completely or make it freeze. It gets incredibly slow. I know 10+ people with it and all hate it because it’s so slow.
The curve, I definitely agree with there. I see EVERYONE with a curve and never get any complaints about it.
i love this mobile phone its looks great
Its on my wish list when ever i have to buy new. What about WIFi thing? i am addicted to skype and Vopium
If Q2 is April-June, then the iPhone 3GS got the number 2 spot with only 1 month of sales.
I’d wait to see September’s Q3 results to see a better comparison, or see more fine grained results that show June only. Due to the 3GS launch, it might need a month or two after the initial UK US etc spike of sales to show the more constant rate of sales.
do 2 for ones (giveaways) count as 2 sales or one?
had a palm pre when it came out, then switched to the new blackberry tour and it is outstanding…om actually posted his own switch to the tour on fb last week too…
As a Palm Pre user, I have to ask – Why did you switch to the Tour?
I haven’t seen a Tour up close yet, but I’ve handled the Curve and the Bold. The Blackberry trackball is so chintzy and inaccurate, and (even on the Bold) the OS makes Windows Mobile logical, easy to use, and modern.
I certainly admit that typing on a Curve is more comfortable that on the Pre. However, the Pre is much nicer to use (better screen, better fonts, much more logical), and the web browser on the Pre is so much better than on any Blackberry. Is is really just all about the keyboard for you, or is there some killer app that’s only available for Blackberry?
I think the killer app on the BB compared to Pre is speed. I enjoy the notifications (though they are starting to annoy me) and the interface for multitasking, but the Pre is an absolute dog in terms of accessing/reading/processing e-mail. The search function is not nearly as good the iPhone for federated search, and copy paste still seems hoky on the Pre.
I would mention battery life as well. I get more than two days on my 8900. From what I understand, the Tour is just slightly behind. That’s much better than the Pre or iPhone.
That’s not a fair comparison at all (and this is coming from a Curve 8900 user). In addition to having models on all four major American carriers, there are also various Curve models. If the iPhone is split up then shouldn’t the numerous Curve models be split up as well?
It’s not really unfair comparison. The list is about who’s selling the most phones, not why they’re selling. Price and carrier selection are obviously the top reasons why the Curve is on the top of the list. Yes, there are different versions of the Curve, but they’re considered to be part of the same model/line. There are also different versions of the iPhone 3GS (capacities/colors), and same with the 3G, but they’re considered to be the same model.
“The list is about who’s selling the most phones.” — Then why break out models at all? If that’s what the list about — which it’s not — then it would simply list manufacturer and number.
“Yes, there are different versions of the Curve, but they’re considered to be part of the same model/line. There are also different versions of the iPhone 3GS (capacities/colors), and same with the 3G, but they’re considered to be the same model.” — How does this make any sense? The 3G and 3Gs are as different as the 8330 and 8900, yet the latter is lumped into the same category.
So who’s selling the most smartphones? Probably RIMM.
nice mobile phone…keep writing
Odd comparison…I’m a curve fan but if you add #2, IPhone 3GS + #4, IPhone 3G, it totals more than #1, The Curve