Smartphone companies moved 81 million smart phones in the third quarter of 2010, up almost 90 percent from the 42.8 million they sold during the same time last year, according to market research firm IDC.
PC World is reporting that smartphone vendors also pushed more than 200 million smartphones during the first three quarters of 2010 as well, which was 67 percent more than the 119.6 million that were sold during the same period in 2009.
IDC also said that customers are currently buying six times as many smart phones as regular cell phones, and they’re being driven by the desire for features like mobile browsing and multimedia functions.
We told you last week how iPhone had taken the lead over other smart phones according to market research firm Canalys, but while individual phone models fall to the Apple (AAPL) iPhone in terms of market share, phones carrying Google’s (GOOG) Android OS still outsell iOS-based devices two-to-one. That’s a factor of there being so many Android phones on the market, while there’s only one iPhone.
And speaking of the glut of Android phones, Verizon (VZ) announced information about Motorola’s new Droid Pro. The phone starts at $179 after a $100 rebate with a two-year contract and bears a full QWERTY keyboard. It shows up in Verizon stores on November 18.
Going on sale today are phones bearing Microsoft’s (MSFT) entry into the mobile OS market. Three phones using Windows Phone 7 are available from AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (DTEGY.PK) for $199 with a two-year contract. At AT&T, customers can get Samsung’s Focus and HTC’s Surround, while at T-Mobile the HTC HD7 is available.
But the huge smartphone market and all the competition between sellers means it’s a buyer’s market. You can catch a deal on the HTC Surround at the Dell Mobility Store for $149, and checking out Amazon.com, you can get it for $99. Those same prices are available for the LG Quantum at both stores as well.
With the bandwagon for smartphones being so huge, it pays to shop around. There’s pretty much nothing but good news for customers looking for a new device — but it might pay to wait a couple of months to find out if all those Verizon iPhone rumors turn out to be true.
