Report: Apple's iPhone 4 was most purchased smartphone in 2011

The three top-selling smartphones in the U.S. last year all belonged to Apple, according to data released by ComScore on Thursday. The iPhone 4 held the number one spot, with the 3GS following in second and the 4S in third, despite an October release. (The RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 and HTC EVO 4G came in line at fourth and fifth, respectively.)

ComScore's annual Mobile Future in Focus report also shows that Apple is the top-selling manufacturer of smartphones in the U.S., with 29.6 percent of the smartphone market.

Although three different iPhone models account for the most popular individual smartphones sold in 2011, iPhones only make up roughly 30 percent of the total smartphone market. With more than just one hardware manufacturer building phones for the platform, Android reigns as the leading smartphone platform at 47.3 percent of the market. Still, comScore data suggests that RIM BlackBerry users are more likely to switch from a RIM device to an Android device, rather than an iPhone.

When looking at mobile traffic across all portable devices, Apple is the clear winner in the U.S. at 60.1 percent, thanks to the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch models. A breakdown of iOS traffic shows that 90.4 percent of all tablet traffic came from the iPad in December 2011, where 37.7 percent of smartphone traffic came from the iPhone. As for app use, the most popular mobile apps amongst iPhone users are YouTube, Google Maps, and Facebook.

Overall smartphone adoption in the U.S. has grown from 27 percent in 2010 to 41.8 percent in 2011, thanks in part to a wide variety of phone models at different price points across multiple carriers.

For a full report, visit comScore's Mobile Future in Focus press release.

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Apple could release iPhone 5 in Fall 2012

iPhone 5 could come by September or October

According to a "reliable source", Apple will release the new iPhone 5 in fall 2012.  Japanese publication Macotakara initially reported the rumor which, if true, could mean Apple will launch the sixth-generation iPhone in either September or October 2012 - starting a new trend in which iPhone will be released in the fall.

Up until the launch of Apple's iPhone 4S in October 2011, Apple had a tendency to launch their new iPhones during the summer.  The original iPhone, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 all launched in June, while the iPhone 3G launched in July.  It wasn't until the iPhone 4S launched in October of last year that the pattern was broken.

It wasn't long ago, however, that we were hearing rumors of Apple planning to return to the summer release schedule - with the iPhone 4S October launch being nothing more than one time thing.  Back in January, a "reliable source at Foxconn" claimed Apple was gearing up for iPhone 5 production which, following the five-month estimated lead time pointed towards a summer 2012 release.

If these newest rumors from Macotakara are true, then they are actually in line with previous reports of an alleged Best Buy document referencing an October release for the iPhone 5. 

With the iPhone 5 fall launch, Apple could be trying to replicate the success from the iPhone 4S fall launch which yielded some impressive Q1 2012 results. In the company's latest earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Apple sold a record-breaking 37 million iPhones - partially thanks to the holiday shopping season.

In related news, an iPhone 5 October release could also allow the iPad 3, rumored for a March release, to have the spotlight for quite a few months.  In all honesty, a spring release for the iPad 3 and a fall release for the iPhone 5 would effectively allow Apple to dominate the mobile market for a good portion of the year.

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