iPhone 4 is ranked top-selling US smartphone despite rising iPhone 5 hype.

The iPhone 4 which was launched in 2010 is reported to top the sale competition at both AT&T and Verizon as the rumors are still in air about the Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone before its predictable launch. According to the Analyst T. Michael Walkley with Canaccord Genuity, the tests with U.S. carriers show that sales of the iPhone 4 maintains a lead on the iPhone 5 debut, regardless of the fact that the iPhone 4 is more than a year old.
 He states that “Our checks indicated strong sales of the iPhone 4, as it remained the top selling smartphone at AT&T and Verizon despite increasing consumer expectations for the iPhone 5 launches.”
Walkley’s research also unveiled that the iPhone 4 stayed the top-selling handset at both AT&T and Verizon in August. The $50 entry-level $50 iPhone 3GS stood second in the sales at AT&T. Verizon does not accumulate the iPhone 3GS. Both the said devices lag $200 Samsung Infuse 4G behind, which costs $200 and was ranked as the third-best selling handset at AT&T. But at Verizon, the Samsung Charge 4G was positioned second, while the HTC Thunderbolt 4G was third.

Walkley wrote that the checks of first half of calendar 2011 signify an apparent trend toward rising share for Apple, HTC and Samsung while the Mobility and RIM enjoyed magnificent sale trends in 2010.
In addition to this he also found that the 3G-capable iPad 2 is the leading tablet at both AT&T and Verizon, which are the only two carriers that offer the iPad in the U.S.

Walkley is expecting that the so-called “iPhone 5″ will be accessible on Sprint in addition to AT&T and Verizon stems from a rumor that surfaced last month. The Wall Street Journal mentioned unidentified sources that discovered America’s third-largest carrier would gain access to the nation’s best-selling smartphone.

Canaccord Genuity has raised the price target for AAPL stock to $545, from $515 on the basis of strong sales of the iPhone 4 and continued drive expected with the launch of Apple’s next-generation handset.
Walkley further said that the rising demand trends will definitely maintain governing value share of both the tablet and smartphone markets to compel healthy long-term income growth.