Apple’s iPhone 3G leads Nielsen’s list for the top mobile phones in the US from January through October 2009, with 4 percent of all subscribers, but RIM and LG exceed Apple when the numbers for their various models are combined: RIM’s BlackBerry 8300, 8100, and 9530 series add up to 6.3 percent and LG’s VX9100, Voyager, VX9700, and Vu series add up to 6.4 percent.

Nielsen’s top 10 list accounts for just over 20 percent of the market, showing how fragmented the cell phone industry remains. Writing for CNET, Dave Rosenberg noted: “The Nielsen data shows both the opportunity and the challenge of creating the next big thing in mobile devices. Just a few years ago, Motorola's Razr was the belle of the ball, and RIM was firmly fixed as an enterprise device. However, the convergence of voice, e-mail, and browsing, as well as new 3G networks, brought the smartphone to the forefront and helped push both RIM and Apple to the top.”

Nielsen also reported other mobile statistics covering the January through September 2009 time period. Google Search was the top web site accessed via mobile phones, while Yahoo! was the top brand and YouTube was the top mobile video channel. Apple’s only presence on those three lists was the top brand one, where the company landed in the tenth spot.