China has overtaken the United States as the world’s top smartphone market by volume according to new data released on Wednesday. Market research firm Strategy Analytics found that a record 23.9 million smartphones were shipped in China during the third quarter, representing sequential growth of 58%. In the U.S., smartphone shipments fell to 23.3 million units, a 7% dip compared to the second quarter. “China’s rapid growth has been driven by an increasing availability of smartphones in retail ch...

Despite the huge variety of new smartphones released since the previous two generations of iPhone were first unveiled, Apple’s devices still managed to top the list of best-selling phones in the U.S. last quarter. According to new data released by market research firm The NPD Group on Monday, Apple’s iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS were the No.1 and 2 top-selling handsets in the U.S. during the third quarter this year. The iPhone 4, available from Verizon Wireless and AT&T during the quarter, was fir...

Tablet adoption is exploding in the United States and a new study conducted by Pew Research Center shows that 11% of consumers in the U.S. now own tablets just 18 months after Apple redefined the category in March of 2010. According to Pew’s survey of 1,159 tablet owners in the U.S., 77% of them use their tablets daily — about 90 minutes per day on average — and 53% of tablet owners use their slates to read news each day. 67% of owners in the U.S. use their tablets for general web browsing, and othe...

A judge with the United States International Trade Commission has ruled that Apple is not infringing on four of HTC’s patents related to phone dialing and battery power management, Reuters said Monday. HTC originally filed the lawsuit in May of last year when it sought a ban on the import of Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The final ruling in the case will occur in February when the verdict of a full commission is revealed. Apple and HTC have been locked in a number of legal battles. Apple fi...

A country that was recently the butt of jokes due to its ongoing reliance on CDMA networks now finds itself a global leader in next-generation cellular technology. According to a new report from Pyramid Research, the United States will account for the largest share of 4G LTE subscriptions in the world this year. Twenty-six carriers around the globe have launched LTE networks thus far according to the GSA, but just three will account for 47% of all LTE connections in 2011: Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS and AT&...

For the first time, the number of wireless devices connecting to cellular networks in the United States and its territories over the past six months has surpassed the country’s total population. A semi-annual survey conducted by the CTIA found that wireless subscriber connections now total 327.6 million while the population of the U.S. and its territories is now 315.5 million people. This means the wireless penetration rate in the U.S. in now 103.9% according to the CTIA, marking the first time that wi...

Sales of video game hardware, software and accessories in the United States continued to slide in August according to new data from NPD Group, again dipping more than 20% compared to the same period last year. Overall industry sales slid 23% to $669.9 million last month from $873.8 million in August 2010. Hardware sales were down 12% from last year to $249.4 million, accessory sales were down just 1% to $134.7 million and software sales plummeted 34% to $264.8 million. ”August 2011 sales saw a declin...

Google’s Android platform gained once again during the three-month period ending in July, increasing it’s share by 1% over second-quarter totals to grab 40% of the U.S. smartphone market. Apple’s iOS stayed flat at 28% and RIM’s BlackBerry OS lost one point from June-quarter figures to fall to 19%. Windows Mobile and Windows Phone combined to take 8% of the market — with Windows Phone responsible for just 1% on its own — and the ghost of smartphone operating systems past is now bu...

Wireless telcos in the United States are poised to invest as much as $53 billion in 4G wireless network technology and buildouts over the next five years, resulting in as much as $151 billion in gross domestic product growth. A new report from accounting and consulting firm Deloitte suggests that that 4G expansion by U.S. wireless companies could also create as many as 771,000 new jobs between 2012 and 2016. Deloitte sees $25 million as the minimum 4G investment from telecommunications companies over the next...

Android’s lead in the U.S. smartphone market was extended further in the second quarter of 2011 according to leading market research firm The NPD Group. The firm on Monday released its second-quarter Mobile Phone Track report, which shows that Android devices accounted for 52% of smartphones sold in the U.S. last quarter. Apple’s iOS-powered iPhone showed slight gains in the second quarter as well, representing 29% of smartphone sales. RIM’s BlackBerry platform slid in the quarter accordin...

U.S. video game industry sales were down 26% in July compared to the same period last year according to new data published by The NPD Group. Hardware sales were down 29% year-over-year to $223 million, video game software sales dipped 17% to $336.2 million and sales of video game accessories were down 8% to $127.8 million. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the U.S. for the seventh consecutive month with unit sales of 277,000, though July marked the first time the Xbox saw a year-on-y...

Nokia plans to exit its low-end feature phone and Symbian smartphone businesses in North America following the launch of its first round of Windows Phones, Journal blog AllThingsD reports. Nokia has historically had a great deal of trouble placing smartphones with carriers here in the U.S., and the Finnish phone maker has subsequently not had much success penetrating the market. Moving forward, however, Nokia is betting the bank on smartphones in North America. ”When we launch Windows Phones we will e...

Sony’ next-generation portable video game console will not launch in the U.S. until early 2012, Sony Executive Vice President Kazuo Hirai told The Associated Press on Thursday. Sony’s PlayStation Vita will become available later this year in Japan, but it will miss the all-important holiday shopping season here in the U.S. and in Europe as well. Some, such as Daiwa Securities Capital Markets analyst Koki Shiraishi, believe Sony’s sales will take a huge hit as a result. “That’s ...

4G is a hot topic here on BGR and as such, we’ve likely become more numb than we should when it comes to advertised data speeds. We’re so used to seeing “theoretical limits” that are so far from reality we just chuckle and move along. The wireline broadband industry, however, is a different beast. According to a study recently conducted by the Federal Communications Commission, major broadband Internet service provides in the U.S. deliver data speeds that are generally between 80% and ...