BlackBerry Curve Outsells iPhone in First Quarter

According to the NPD Group, Verizon's aggressive pricing on the BlackBerry Curve made it the best-selling smartphone in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2009.

Sure, sure: all the media buzz in the mobile industry might be about the Apple iPhone and how other companies are trying to respond to its popularity, but only RIM seems to be having any actual success going up against the iPhone. According to new market numbers from research firm NPD, the BlackBerry Curve 83xx models were the top-selling smartphone in the United States during the first quarter of 2009. In fact, RIM smartphones accounted for three of the top five sales positions, with the BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Pearl taking the third and fourth slots. The iPhone 3G was number two, while the T-Mobile G1 took fifth place.

According to NPD, RIM’s consumer smartphone marketshare increased 15 percent during the first quarter of 2009, aided by an aggressive “buy one, get one” promotion by Verizon Wireless. For the quarter, RIM accounted for nearly 50 percent of the smartphone market, and Apple’s and Palm’s shares of the markets both shrunk by 10 percent as both companies ramp up to new product launches.

Overall, smartphones represented 23 percent of all mobile handset sales during the quarter.

“Verizon Wireless’s aggressive marketing of the BlackBerry Storm and its buy-one-get-one BlackBerry promotion to its large customer base contributed to RIM capturing three of the top five positions,” said NPD director of industry analysis Ross Rubin, in a statement. “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.”