∞ iPhone 4, 3GS lead mobile phone sales

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It may come as a surprise to many, but Apple’s iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS are the top two selling phones on the market in the US as of the third quarter.

A new study from NPD shows that Apple’s two previous models topped the list and were followed by the HTC EVO 4G, Motorola Droid 3 and the Samsung Intensity II. According to the report, price had a big part to play in buying decisions.

“Among U.S. consumers who considered purchasing phones in the $200 to $250 price range, 64 percent ended up purchasing a phone for less than $200,” the report reads.

NPD said that the share of U.S. mobile handset sales that were smartphones reached 59 percent in the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 13 percent since the same quarter in 2010. The report also noted that the average price for smartphones has fallen for four consecutive quarters and is now at $135.


  • http://twitter.com/pberry Patrick Berry

    Or as a surprise to few…

  • Anonymous

    This is as of the third quarter, so this doesn’t reflect the iPhone 4S, yes? I will be very curious as to how this looks in the fourth quarter. A $100 iPhone 4 might really make for a more popular holiday gift than a $200 iPhone 4S, and even more popular than a “free” 3GS. I’ll be very interested to see how it all plays out.

    • Steven Fisher

      Or the 3GS could win, based on “free.”

      Too many possibilities. I, too, want to see how it plays out.

      • Anonymous

        I agree it’s pretty dicey playing the consumer psychology game.

        BUT IT’S ALSO FUN!!!!! So with that in mind…

        I imagine a scenario where it’s holiday time, and you’ve got a budget you’re willing to spend on your kid or spouse or whatever, and you come across these iPhones, and while the 3GS is free the 4 is a very significantly better product, and you had a budget anyway. It’s not like the monthly fee is going to be any different between the two, and it’s the holiday season, and you’re spending money anyway so the skids are greased…

        (when I imagine this, Ty Burrell is portraying me)

        • Steven Fisher

          Yup. I think that’s the most likely scenario, too.

  • belton braces

    Should this be referenced to the assertion that Cook made regarding the rumors of iPhone 5 damaging 4 sales, and consequentially the under-performing quarter?

    Hence the surprise might be that despite the sales crippled by geek-fear unit obsolescence, as far as the rest of the industry goes the hardware seemed to have shifted off the shelves in good numbers.

  • http://twitter.com/justin_horn Justin Horn

    I just buy a new iPhone every year, use the money I’d pay for AppleCare to go towards a new one.

    • Peter Cohen

      Yeah, that’s the argument against buying AppleCare for iPhones. If you’re on a two-year contract cycle with your carrier and you know you’re going to get an updated model, it doesn’t seem worth it – though AppleCare+ does offer some great peace of mind.

  • PatrickD

    Macs are fairly reliable and any desktop Mac that is just sitting there being used by adults isn’t likely to need repairs equal to the AppleCare cost. For portable stuff, it depends how abusive you are. I’ve had an iPhone for 4 years with no issues, but my friend Brian seems to crack his screen every 6 months. Obviously, he would get more out of AppleCare.

    • Peter Cohen

      For my late ’09 MacBook, I’ve had the top case replaced twice, the screen replaced once, the keyboard replaced, and the bottom case replaced twice, all under AppleCare (or once, in the case of the bottom case, a service advisory from Apple). The result is that my MacBook is in as good shape now as it was the day I bought it. So for that, it’s been a great investment.

      I’d agree with you about desktops, but my son’s Mac mini crapped out over the summer, and I had a hard disk replacement on that done under AppleCare. One can argue that my money would have been better spent on buying a new hard drive and installing it myself, but Mac minis are a PITA to work on, so I was just as happy to make Apple do it.

      The downside, of course, is that we’re 45 minutes away from an Apple store, so it’s always a trek to get there.

  • http://twitter.com/diffkid Bryan Mills

    The first time you run your brand new iPhone 4S through the washing machine, not only does the AppleCare+ warranty pay for itself but it reduces the sudden panic you feel.

    Although, to be fair in the 5 years of so I’ve own Apple laptops, desktops and phones, it’s the first time I’ve had to use the warranty at all.

  • David

    I keep a special savings account where I deposit the cost of the extended warranty whenever I buy something that offers one. I pay the out-of-warranty repairs from there. Only once has it gone negative.

  • Guest

    I get AppleCare for my laptops, but nothing else.

  • Brad

    For laptops, definitely. There are so many parts that can have issues over the years, and they’re subject to a lot more abuse. It’ll easily pay for itself if you actually make a point of taking it in for the tiny things that you might have ignored otherwise, and it’ll definitely pay for itself if you ever have a major issue.

    For desktops, maybe. If it’s adult-owned and not likely to be borked by someone thinking that the /System folder should go somewhere else (*sigh* true story), then I’d probably say no. For a computer illiterate or someone who may ignore a few warnings and move some files around, it’s very nice to give them a sense of reassurance while also providing an out for yourself when it comes time to troubleshoot those issues. You can just point them to the support number, and tell them that the people there will know better.

  • http://www.tenfingercrunch.com Michael Bartholomew

    In a previous life I was a computer technician. Although working on an Mac was rare (with the exception of replacing the clock battery), I always volunteered to work on them. Since working there and switching to Macs, I have had multiple desktops, laptops, an iPod Touch and an iPad. The only units I ever had to work on were the laptops. From my experience, if you aren’t comfortable cracking open a case, I would recommend getting AppleCare on the laptops.

  • http://mangochut.net/ mangochutney

    I think an ACP is worth it for most devices.
    My MBP was a lemon and I definitely got my money’s worth with the plan.
    I’m debating getting it for the Mac mini because I can service most parts myself.
    But I’m definitely going to buy it for my 4S, since I already had it replaced last Thursday.

  • Steven Fisher

    I used to get AppleCare for everything. I probably still will. But I’ve definitely had fewer problems with more recent hardware; I haven’t used it at all with my unibody MacBook.

  • http://www.theuniversalsteve.com Anonymous

    I had AppleCare on my PowerBook. The hard drive died during the coverage so I was able to send it in and get it replaced. But it would have been cheaper to do it myself. I didn’t get AppleCare on my MacBook Pro and replaced the drive myself earlier this year.

    I did get AppleCare+ for my and my wife’s iPhone 4Ses. Considering both of our 3GSes wound up underwater at some point (mine less than two weeks after I bought it) I figured this was a good call. They both survived, but the WiFi reception on mine was weak and my wife’s proximity sensor didn’t work. The peace of mind is easily worth the extra $100 + $49 per incident.