NPD Group has released the latest smartphone data for the fourth quarter 2010, and Android smartphone sales was 53 percent of all consumer smartphone sales.
The top Android smartphones were the Motorola Droid X, HTC Evo 4G and Motorola Droid 2. The top selling smartphone, however, was the iPhone 4, and the fourth bestselling smartphone was the iPhone 3GS.
Based on U.S. consumer purchases of mobile phones in Q4 2010, for the first time there were no feature-phone handsets in NPD's top-five ranking. All top-selling mobile phone models were smartphones, as follows:
- Apple iPhone 4 AT&T.
- Motorola Droid X.
- HTC EVO 4G.
- Apple iPhone 3GS.
- Motorola Droid 2.
Apple iOS share declined 4 percentage points to comprise 19 percent of unit sales in Q4; RIM BlackBerry OS fell 2 points to tie Apple's 19 percent; Windows Mobile, Microsoft's legacy OS, fell 3 points to 4 percent, as the new Windows Phone 7 OS debuted at 2 percent; and Palm's WebOS held at 2 percent.
Well what do you know, when Wireless and Mobile News surveyed all reviews and top best smartphone articles, our Top Best Coolest Smartphones of 2010 mirrored many of the top bestselling smartphones. The only one we missed was the Droid 2, which is now MIA and replaced by the Droid 2 Global.
"With its mid-quarter launch Windows Phone 7 entered the epicenter of competition between iOS and Android at AT&T. Both competitors offer mature feature sets and large app libraries," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. "Microsoft has made the case for Windows Phone 7's differentiation and improved integration. Now, the company must close the feature gap, offer more exclusive capabilities, work with partners to deliver hardware with better differentiation, and leverage its extensive experience in driving developer communities to increase its app offerings."
Despite buy-one-get-one promotions at both AT&T and T-Mobile, the Windows Phone 7 OS claimed less market share than its predecessor, Windows Mobile, for which handsets are still available at all four major U.S. carriers. Windows Phone 7 also entered the market with lower share than either Android or webOS at their debuts, according to NPD's Mobile Phone Track.
- Top Ten Best Smartphones - Top Carriers and 4-Way Tie in 9th Place.
- Top Ten Best Smartphones - Top Maker, OS & #10.
- Top Best Coolest Smartphones by Carrier from AT&T, Sprint T-Mobile. or Verizon.
- Many of the top phones were named in Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews Top Ten Best Android an' Droid Phones Now an' Later.