Apple iPhone outsold all smartphones in July

This number sounds pretty paltry upon first blush, but iSuppli says that the iPhone matched the popular LG Chocolate phone in sales during July. It also outsold all other smartphones during the same time period—this included all BlackBerrys, the entire Palm portfolio, and anything from Motorola, Nokia, or Samsung, to name a few. iSuppli noted that does not consider the iPhone to be a smartphone itself, but a crossover phone (it would need official support for third-party software in order to be elevated to smartphone status).

"This is a remarkable accomplishment for Apple, considering that July marked the first full month of sales for the iPhone," wrote iSuppli in a statement. The company notes that while it does not have historical data on the iPhone (given the fact that it launched on June 29), it's impressive that Apple was able to land with such strong numbers "in the face of numerous, well-entrenched competitors."

Of course, the iPhone's sales numbers throughout July are no doubt inflated due to the mass amounts of hype that carried the iPhone through its launch. The iPhone's true appeal to the general public will be reflected if Apple is able to maintain strong sales in the coming months and years, which iSuppli believes will happen. The company predicts that Apple will sell a lofty 4.5 million units in 2007 and up to 30 million by 2011.