The Apple iPhone is now the second best selling phone in the US, with one in three users switching from other mobile operators to get the shiny smartphone over the summer.
According to the report from the NPD Group, the first version of the iPhone won Apple some 11 per cent of market share. The second version, the iPhone 3G, has now taken that to 17 per cent. That makes it second only to Motorola's RAZR V3 in the US.
AT&T made a good move getting the phone exclusively in the US, as a third of the people who bought the device between June and August moved from another carrier.
Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, in a statement: "While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G has proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network."
According to the report, this summer Apple lead smartphone sales, followed by RIM's BlackBerry Curve and Pearl, and the Palm Centro. "The launch of the lower-priced iPhone 3G was a boon to overall consumer smartphone sales," said Rubin. This was likely helped by the price of the devices falling an average 26 per cent over the period.
Click here for our review of the iPhone 3G.
