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Tech Check
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Courtesy of Apple IPhone 3G |
] iPhone had become the top smartphone choice among business customers, which probably came as a shock to Research in Motion [RIMM
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], the maker of the ubiquitous BlackBerry. Today's news from NPD about iPhone's new lofty position among all consumers may not be as much of a surprise, but speaks volumes about the penetration of this device. NPD reports that the 3G version of the iPhone surpassed Motorola's [MOT
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] RAZR as the leading handset purchased by adult consumers during the third quarter in the United States. That'd be a big deal no matter when it happened, but it ends RAZR's 12-quarter winning streak as the nation's top handset. Not surpassed by BlackBerry (#3), or some offering from LG (#4 and #5), but iPhone.
"The displacement of the RAZR by the iPhone 3G represents a watershed shift in handset design from fashion to fashionable functionality," says NPD's director of industry analysis Ross Rubin in a release this morning.
Interestingly, iPhone's top attractions—including that stellar touchscreen and its sweet browser—didn't rate among the top features for which consumers were shopping. About 43 percent of handset buyers said they wanted a camera; 36 percent want to send and receive text messages. Still, despite these developments, mobile phone sales declined 15 percent year over year in the third quarter to 32 million units. Consumer handset sales revenue fell 10 percent to $2.9 billion, even as the average selling price rose 6 percent to $88, according to the NPD survey.
What this survey really shows is how quickly the iPhone is gaining traction in the marketplace. The device has only been on sale for over a year, and yet it keeps winning over new customers, and displacing the old standbys.
At the same time, a report is out from SquareTrade, that looked at some 15,000 handsets and found that iPhone's malfunction rate was about half that of BlackBerry and almost two-thirds lower than Palm's Treo. IPhone's malfunction rate ran at 5.6 percent in its first year, compared to 11.9 percent for BlackBerry and 16.2 percent for Treo. IPhone did have trouble on the whole durability thing, with 12 percent of iPhone users reporting accidental damage to their handsets during that first year, compared to an average 9 percent for to other handsets. iPhones are slippery, the dimensions make the device difficult to grip and the two issues together mean a lot of dropped handsets.
Bottom line: Everything Steve Jobs said about the iPhone seems to be coming true. This little phone is spawning a major consumer and business revolution, with sales far exceeding so many of those early expectations. People make such a big deal about how gadgets just won't sell in this economy, but I would argue that the iPhone's value proposition—especially in an economy like this one—make it even more compelling: An inexpensive web browser for online access; email; a game-player that already technologically rivals offerings from Sony [SNE
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] and Nintendo [NTDOY
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]; a slick video player; an iPod; a camera; a robust, and growing-everyday applications store; oh, and it makes phone calls, too. All of that in one device. And all for $199, or $100 cheaper than the new Bold from BlackBerry.
We can talk and talk and talk about how consumers aren't buying gadgets this holiday shopping season. But if they can get six or seven gadgets in one, iPhone could become the single best gadget of choice this year, even in a down economy, and that might mean its momentum may only be just beginning.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes