Thanks to strong sales of the all new iPhone 5, Apple's mobile operating system, iOS, has managed to regain its lost glory by topping Google’s Android to become the leading smartphone maker in the United States.
ReutersSamsung may have taken a fair chunk of Apple's market share, courtesy its Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 sales. However, when it comes to this year's best gadget releases, the iPhone maker tops the list.
American weekly Time magazine has named Apple's new iPhone 5 as this year's best gadget in its annual list of top ten gadgets. Technology editor Harry McCracken, who compiled the list, praised Apple's fifth iteration smartphone as "the most artfully polished gadgets anyone's ever built".
"When it comes to melding hardware, software and services so tightly that the seams fade away, Apple still has no peer," wrote McCracken in the list published on Dec 4.
While iPhone 5 was hailed by Time as king of all smartphones, it's surprising to note that its arch rival Samsung Galaxy S3 had failed to make the cut into the top ten. Its omission was highly unexpected considering the acclamation it received as the world's best selling smartphone. The third quarter of 2012 saw Galaxy S3 sales touching 18 million, surging ahead of iPhone 4S's 16.2 million units.
According to earlier reports, iPhone 5 sold out 20 times faster that its two previous models, reaching an estimated six million in global shipments in the third quarter. Its debut weekend in September saw iPhone 5 sales topping five million and, subsequent sales over the weeks overtook the Android market by strong margins, research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reported in November.
Taking note of its rising popularity, JP Morgan's chief economist Michael Ferol remarked that iPhone 5 will have a positive impact on the US economy and forecasted a $3.2 billion increase in annualized US GDP in Q4 helmed by strong sales uptake.
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, stood firm on his belief that iPhone 5 will overtake Galaxy S3 over a period of time.
"Samsung's Galaxy S3 has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators across North America, Europe and Asia. However, the Galaxy S3's position as the world's best-selling smartphone model is likely to be short-lived," Mawston said last month.
"We expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung's Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter of 2012 and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world's most popular smartphone model," he added.
Samsung's popularity in the technology world didn't seem enough to even make it to the top five league. Galaxy Note 2, another one of its popular-selling devices, secured the eight position after losing out to Nintendo Wii U, Sony Cyber-shot RX100, Raspberry Pi Model B, Lytro, Apple 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina Display and Microsoft Surface with Windows RT in their respective rankings.
Listed below are Time magazine's top 10 gadgets of 2012:
1. iPhone 5
2. Nintendo Wii U
3. Sony Cyber-shot RX100
4. Raspberry Pi Model B
5. Lytro
6. Apple 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina Display
7. Microsoft Surface with Windows RT
8. Samsung Galaxy Note 2
9. Nest
10. Simple.TV
