Analysts with Gartner are claiming that the iPhone has managed to bring new life into the smartphone market by increasing what consumers expect from an ordinary cellphone. They claim that 32.2 million smartphones were sold in the second quarter of this year, which is up 15.7% from a year ago.

　　“The current economic environment continues to negatively impact the market, limiting consumer spending and replacement purchases in general,” said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner.

　　Despite this, the launch of the iPhone 3G helped strengthen sales in the third quarter. He also noted that smartphone sales North America grew 78.7% from last year, making up for almost 25% of global sales.