Top-selling smart phone? Hint: It’s the other one with a fruity name
Life is full of surprises. Despite all the hype given (by people like me) to Apple and its nifty iPhones, the Blackberry Curve just took over the number one position in smart phone sales in the first quarter of 2009.
According to The NPD Group, a wireless research firm, the Curve took advantage of a buy-one, get-one promotion to topple the iPhone from its perch.
The top sellers:
1. RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
2. Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
3. RIM BlackBerry Storm
4. RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
5. T-Mobile G1
Said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at The NPD Group:
“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.”
We’ve been hearing rumors that Apple is thinking about expanding beyond its exclusive relationship with AT&T. There has been talk that Verizon might be able to offer an iPhone in the next year or so. I wonder if this will give Apple any additional incentive.
Tim has covered a wide range of topics, including tourism, crime, aviation and gambling, since becoming a reporter in 1990. The Oklahoma native joined the Post-Dispatch in 2007 after spending nine years in Orlando. In his spare time, he's often exploring one virtual world or another. He can be reached at tbarker@post-dispatch.com. 
Wait a minute…isn’t the BlackBerry named after fruit? *wink*
So true. I guess my brain sort of turned off when I wrote that first (now corrected) headline.