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NPD: 4G Has 20% Of Smartphone Market In Q2

Port Washington, N.Y. – More than one in five smartphones
purchased in the second quarter (Q2) of 2011 were capable of running at 4G
speeds, according to The NPD Group.

Sales of 4G smartphones reached 22 percent of overall
smartphone sales, up from only 3 percent of smartphone sales a year ago, NPD
said.

“In the year since the debut of the Evo 4G, the number of 4G
smartphone models has exploded,” said Ross Rubin, industry analysis executive
director for NPD. “Carriers have great incentive to promote handsets that
showcase their network investments and command premium data rates. 4G is
ushering in the era of video on the go.”

According to NPD’s monthly Mobile Phone Track service, the
following are the top four smartphone 4G manufacturers (OEMs) based on consumer
sales in Q2 2011: HTC, 62 percent; Samsung, 22 percent; Motorola, 11 percent;
and LG, 4 percent.

HTC remains far and away the 4G-smartphone-share leader,
comprising 62 percent of the 4G-smartphone market.

In the second quarter of 2011, the company also had the top
three best-selling 4G-smartphone models on three different carriers: Evo 4G,
Inspire 4G and Thunderbolt.

NPD also reported that Sprint has the highest percentage of
4G smartphone sales, and is the only carrier for which 4G handsets comprised
the majority of smartphone sales. NPD considers smartphones to be 4G if they
support LTE, WiMAX or HSPA+ with downlink speeds of 14 Mbps or greater.

“Carriers have chosen to market 4G with different tradeoffs
for handsets,” said Rubin. “While HSPA+, for example, has not achieved the
fastest wireless speeds in the market, it has allowed carriers to build
portfolios quickly with benefits for form factors, battery life and price.”

The information is from Mobile Phone Track — NPD’s consumer
tracking of U.S. consumers, aged 18 and older, who reported purchasing a mobile
phone. NPD does not track corporate/enterprise mobile phone purchases.

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