Although reports made in May 2010 indicate that Android had outsold Apple iPhones, more recent and current reports of the 2^nd quarter of 2011 made by National Purchase Diary (NPD) on Mobile Phone Track service, which listed the top five selling smartphones in the United States for the months of April-June of 2011, indicate that Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS outsold other Android phones on the market in the U. S. for the third calendar quarter of 2011. This was true for the previous quarter of the same year; The iPhone 4 held the top spot.  The fact that the iPhone 4 claimed top spot does not come as a surprise to the analysts; rather, it is a testament to them of how well the iPhone is revered among consumers. The iPhone 3GS, which came out in 2009 outsold newer Android phones with higher screen resolutions and more processing power. The list of the five top selling smartphones is depicted below:

1. Apple iPhone 4
2. Apple iPhone 3GS
3. HTC EVO 4G
4. Motorola Droid 3
5. Samsung Intensity II[1]

Apple’s iPhone also outsold Android devices7.8:1 at AT&T’s corporate retail stores in December. A source inside the Apple company told The Mac Observer that those stores sold some 981,000 iPhones between December 1st and December 27^th 2011, and that the Apple device accounted for some 66% of all device sales during that period (see the pie figure below) . Android devices, on the other hand, accounted for just 8.5% of sales during the same period.

According to the report, AT&T sold approximately 981,000 iPhones through AT&T corporate stores in the first 27 days of December, 2011 while 126,000 Android devices were sold during the same period. Even the basic flip and slider phones did better than Android, with 128,000 units sold.[2] However, it is important to understand that this is a report for one particular environment at a particular period in time. As the first iPhone carrier in the world, AT&T has been the dominant iPhone carrier in the U.S. since day one, and AT&T has consistently claimed that the iPhone is its best selling device.

Chart courtesy of Mac Observer: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/iphone_crushes_android_at_att_corporate_stores_in_december/

A more recent report posted in ismashphone.com, dated January 25 2012, indicated that Apple sold 37 million iPhones in Q4 2011.  It appears that the iPhone 4S really helped take Apple’s handset past competing Android phones. According to research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple’s U.S. smartphone marketshare has doubled to 44.9 percent.[3] Meanwhile, Android marketshare in the U.S. dropped slightly to 44.8 percent. This report means that the iPhone has edged just a little bit past Android in U.S. marketshare. This is occurred after Apple’s Q1 2012 conference call, which saw themselling 37 million handsets. Meanwhile, it’s reported that marketers of Android devices, such as Motorola Mobility, HTC and Sony Ericsson saw drops this quarter.

The reasons for the surge in sales of iPhones include the fact that previously, Apple had introduced new smartphone models in the summer which gave the smartphones a big push in the sales at that time.[4] This was followed by another surge during the holiday shopping season, later in the year.  However, the iPhone 4S, was launched in October 2011 close to the holiday season. This means that the two surges were combined. Additionally, Apple added a new U.S. carrier to its lineup. In the fall of 2011, Sprint joined AT&T and Verizon in being allowed to sell the iPhone 4 and 4S.

Furthermore, AT&T began offering the iPhone 3GS for free with a two-year contract. This is the first time any Apple smartphone has been this affordable; attracting customers who had thought the smartphone was beyond their budget. Even though this smartphone debuted in 2009, it has continued to sell in high enough numbers that Apple and AT&T have struggled to keep up with demand.

References

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[1]Grothaus, M. (2012). TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog). NPD Group: iPhone 4, 3GS outsold

Android phones in Q3. Accessed July 8, 2012 from http://www.tuaw.com/2011/11/15/npd-group-us-iphone-4-3gs-outsold-android-phones-in-q3/

[2]iSmashPhone (2012). Research Firm: iPhone Outsold Android Smartphones This Quarter.

Retrieved July 9, 2012 http://ismashphone.com/2012/01/research-firm-iphone-outsold-android-smartphones-this-quarter.html

 

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[3]Lunden, I. (2012). Kantar: Apple Back On Top As Bestselling Smartphone In The U.S. Retrieved

July 9, 2012 from http://paidcontent.org/2012/01/25/419-apple-back-on-top-as-bestselling-smartphone-in-the-u-s/          

 

[4] Hardy, E. (2012). Apple iPhone Out sold Android Last Quarter in the United States. Retrieved

July 9, 2012 from http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=18552&news=Apple+iPhone+Google+Android+Samsung+Comparison+Sales+HTC