iPhone 3G Now Top Cellphone In Use In US; "Psychographic" Advantage Over BlackBerry Say Nielsen

Having pulled ahead of Windows Mobile in US smartphone market share, the iPhone 3G has now been named the most popular single handset in use in the US between January and September 2009.  Research firm Nielsen found that the Apple smartphone edged out the BlackBerry 8300 series (at 3.7-percent) with 4-percent of all subscribers; meanwhile a separate Nielsen report found that while RIM's handsets currently have twice the market penetration of Apple's (8-percent versus 4-percent), the iPhone has a "psychographic" advantage as the go-to device for users wanting the newest technology.

Nielsen reckon 15-percent of American households have a smartphone, and point to the BlackBerry's earlier introduction as a key reason for its higher comparative market share.  When questioned about being considered "bleeding edge" adopters, iPhone owners were more likely to rank themselves keener on trying new technology than their more cautious RIM-buying counterparts.

Finally, Apple.com was apparently the tenth most-accessed brand on mobile phones between January and September 2009, and in fact the only direct hardware manufacturer to make the top ten.  While Google made the list, it was their homepage rather than anything Android-related.