Smartphone numbers are in: iPhone sales exceed Windows Mobile sales for first time

Gartner's latest and greatest analysis of the global smartphone industry is in, and there are quite a few interesting nuggets tucked within all those percentages. For starters, the sector still managed to grow 11.5% in Q3 2008 compared to a year prior, but that increase is the smallest since it began tracking. Of course, given the current economic climate, we'd say it's a win to see any number not in the negative. Moving on, we see Nokia maintaining its numero uno status with 42.4% market share, though it did recognize a rare decline in sales of 3% year-on-year; as for RIM, its BlackBerry phone sales increased an amazing 81.7% in Q3. We're also clued in to why Apple was rumored to be hacking its iPhone production some 40% in Q4, as the company has some two million units of inventory built up in the supply channel. Finally, we're told that "for the first time (meaning in this quarter), iPhone sales exceeded sales of Microsoft Windows Mobile devices worldwide and in North America," and beyond that, "open-source initiatives like Android and Symbian Foundation [are set to] challenge Windows Mobile's licensing model in the short-term." Need we really reiterate how badly WinMo 7 is needed?

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