[Edward Kirk]

Growing iPhone sales have placed Apple among the top ten cellphone suppliers in the US, moving to the number six spot, bumping RIM off the bottom of the list. The company snatched 2.3% market share in Q3. Surprisingly, despite the apparent oncoming economic downturn, much of the sales seen during the quarter came from low-inome households.

According to a study by ComScore, the most rapid growth has come from households earning less than the median income. One possible explanation for the phenomenon that ComScore suggests is that the very high number of easy-to-use features with the iPhone makes it a viable replacement for several household devices.

"We see that lower-income consumers are increasingly turning to mobile devices to access the Internet, to listen to music and for email," said Mark Donovan, senior analyst at comScore. "A 'Swiss-Army knife of a device' like the iPhone offers a phone, a music player, a camera and a way to connect to the Internet, which may appeal to consumers cutting back their spending on gadgets."

[via WSJ, Register]

[rocknvrdie]

Great, so I'm pretty much paying for their iPhones.