A first-ever drop in smartphone sales could be good news for Apple but portend ‘ominous signs’ for the many companies tied to the Android mobile operating system. Despite launching several Android-based phones, carriers AT&T and Verizon both reported a drop-off in smartphone sales during the September quarter, one analyst noted Monday.
“We believe slowdown in Android/Blackberry/[Windows Phone] sales at AT&T/Verizon likely indicates a reasonable number of customers choosing not to upgrade in Q3, but rather waiting to switch to the iPhone in Q4,” Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt told investors Monday.
McCourt adds that the drop-off in smartphone demand could especially hurt Android vendors, “given that there were a number of Android launches in the quarter.”
Both Apple and Android vendors also must readjust to a maturing smartphone market. Now that nearly half (45 percent) of paid-paid AT&T and Verizon Wireless subscribers have smartphones, the companies will need to experiment with “lower priced plans” to continue to grow smartphone sales, the analyst notes. Already Verizon is testing its BlackBerry Social plan to entice lower-cost plan owners to purchase the RIM smartphone.
