The most popular phones in use in the US in 2009

(AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN)

Apple's iPhone 3G was the most popular mobile phone in use in the US for most of 2009, says market researcher Nielsen.

The handset beat contenders such as RIM's BlackBerry 8300 Series, Motorola's RAZR V3 series and LG's VX9100, representing 4 percent of an "embedded base of all subscribers."

Nielsen's top ten list was dominated by smartphones that feature easy-to-use operating systems and cutting-edge technology. Other important features demonstrated on most or all of the phones included a decent camera, WiFi and 3G connections, social networking features and the ability to customize the device with downloadable applications.

Both Research In Motion (RIM) and LG had multiple handset models in the top ten with a combined embedded base of all subscribers of 6.3 percent and 6.4 percent respectively.

Nielsen's list of top 10 Mobile Phones in Use (US) - January - October 2009:
1. Apple 3G iPhone (4.0%)
2. RIM BlackBerry 8300 Series (Curve, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8350i) (3.7% )
3. Motorola RAZR V3 series (V3, V3c, V3m, V3i, V3i DG, V3) (2.3% )
4. LG VX9100 (enV2) (2.1% )
5. LG Voyager (1.7% )
6. Samsung SPH-M540 (Rant) (1.5% )
7. RIM BlackBerry 9530 series (Storm) (1.4% )
8. LG VX9700 (Dare) (1.3% )
9. LG Vu series (CU915, CU920) (1.3% )
10. RIM BlackBerry 8100 series (Pearl, 8110, 8120, 8129) (1.2% )