Apple’s iPhone has certainly been a hit with the media…but how has it been faring with consumers? According to new figures from market research firm iSuppli, the iPhone accounted for 1.8 percent of all mobile handsets sold in the United States during July, the iPhone’s first full month of availability. The two-model iPhone line also outsold RIM’s BlackBerry products, Palm’s entire mobile product line, and all individual smartphone models from Samsung, Nokia, and Motorola—and according to iSuppli, iPhone sales were essentially even with sales of the LG Chocolate, the most popular "feature phone" in the U.S. during July.
iSuppli’s numbers are based on a monthly online survey of roughly 2 million consumers. According to iSuppli, July’s iPhone buyers tended to be male, under 35 years of age, and college graduates. A quarter of those iPhone buyers switched their mobile operator to AT&T to get the iPhone.
iSuppli is also sticking by its forecast that Apple would sell 4.5 million iPhones this year, with sales numbers reaching to more than 30 million by 2011…assuming Apple sticks with the mobile phone market. "While iSuppli has not collected historical information on this topic, it’s likely that the speed of the iPhone’s rise to competitive dominance in its segment is unprecedented in the history of the mobile-handset market," the company said.
