The mobile phone industry is hurting except for the high-end smartphone and feature phone segments. These more expensive devices are selling and smartphones are actually growing in popularity. The latest numbers for the mobile phone market are in and Apple is tops when it comes to profits.

According to Strategy Analytics Apple has posted $1.6 billion in operating profits for Q3 2009. The second place manufacturer is Nokia with $1.1 billion in operating profits. The impressive part here is that Apple is doing this with one or two models while Nokia has a full line of devices.

I can only imagine how much profit Apple would turn if the iPhone wasn’t tied to a specific carrier and there was more than one model to choose from. I hope that the days of the iPhone exclusive are numbered.

Strategy Analytics