IPhone is thrown a Curve, drops to 2nd
For the moment, Apple Inc.’s iPhone has been unseated from its throne.
Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Curve replaced the iPhone as the best-selling smartphone among consumers in the first quarter, the NPD Group said Monday. The iPhone came in second, with two other BlackBerry models -- the Storm and the Pearl -- right behind.
The research firm attributes the change in rankings to aggressive ad campaigns by Verizon Wireless that pitched the BlackBerry Storm and a buy-one-get-one-free offer on BlackBerrys.
“The more familiar and less expensive Curve benefited from these giveaways and was able to leapfrog the iPhone, due to its broader availability on the four major U.S. national carriers,” Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD, said in a report.
A lesson there: It can be an advantage not to be tied to one carrier, as the iPhone is to AT&T.;
Palm Inc. probably doesn’t want to hear that. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company is set to launch the Pre, its answer to the iPhone, as soon as two weeks from now. The Pre will be available exclusively through Sprint Nextel Corp. Palm’s share of the smartphone market declined 10% in the first quarter, according to NPD.
Of course, these rankings change regularly. The Curve could get more of a foothold because AT&T; on Monday announced the availability of a new version -- the 8900, which it says has the thinnest QWERTY BlackBerry keyboard and a faster Internet connection. It’s also the first AT&T; Curve to have both Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities.
But it’s possible the iPhone could shoot back up if Verizon Wireless eventually gets the iPhone, as rumored. Or maybe the Pre will be a big hit and leap into the top five. It’s anyone’s game.
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