US carrier smartphone sales slip

It's not just the economy it's market saturation: almost everyone who wants an expensive, high-end smartphone probably has one and they are probably gradually aligning to the 2-year cycles of the typical contracts rather than clamouring to upgrade every year.

I'd expect a surge in November though when the new Android 4.0 reference phone "Galaxy Nexus", design icon Moto "RAZR" launch at practically the same time.

What about the other networks?

I realise these guys account for 80% of the market, but it does seem like the interesting story with Android recently is the entry into the prepaid market on the tiny regional carriers. You might expect this to disrupt the high-end market much as I'm appalled at the prices they're asking for fashionable phones in the UK after buying a Orange San Francisco for 70 quid off-contract.

Let's keep in mind

the iPhone 4gs just shipped, so some people were probably waiting for this. Plus, if some people are okay with the phone they have and don't see a replacement worth the cash, why get one? Non-story here.

Can't people be happy with there phone?

I am not waiting for the new Iphone. I like my Droid X and see no need to upgrade

Android is doing everything I want for the phone and more.

It's even worse when you use the correct shipment numbers of 4.6million for iPhone and 5.8million for non-iPhone.

Commodity effect?

Notwithstanding the people waiting for the latest iPhone, might the smartphone market have actually reached the same stage as the computer market, only a lot quicker?

Many people are finding no compelling reason to update their desktop computers, and looking at the selling points of the latest smarphones they seem to be focussing on internals like dual-core processors and the like. In terms of doing what you actually want to do with them, all the smartphones will do that and have done for a little while now.

Moar moar moar

I bought my N1 circa 2 years ago and see absolutely no reason to get a new phone. Not for another year or two. I'd also bite my own balls off before I'd get a stupid carrier subsidized, branded, locked down phone. One i have works perfectly fine and was also too expensive to just discard for no good reason. All this obsession with ever growing numbers, who are they selling all that stuff to? Android market share grew very rapidly, it'd be idiotic to expect that to continue indefinitely and get all worked up because it's beginnig to taper off.