From The Straits Times    |

Mobile ad data shows that iPhone 5 is more popular than its closest rival, regardless of problems with supply chain and mapping software.

iPhone 5 already more popular than Samsung Galaxy SIII in the US

Despite problems with supply chain, scratches to its casing and mapping inadequecies, the iPhone 5 has already surpassed the Samsung Galaxy S III in terms of web traffic volumes.

According to the latest data from Chitika Insights published Friday and gathered from millions of mobile ad impressions in the US from October 3 until October 9, the latest iPhone accounts for 12 percent more web traffic than its closest competitor. The Galaxy S III officially launched in the US in July and by August was outselling the iPhone 4S. In fact, according to figures released by Samsung, by September, it had become the company’s fastest-selling flagship smartphone, selling 20 million handsets around the world, including 4 million in the US.

Yet after just 18 days on the market, the iPhone 5 has now overtaken the SIII in terms of ad traffic.

Many experts had warned that the problems with Apple’s mapping application would halt future sales of the device, but a survey of 4270 North Americans published Friday by ChangeWave reveals that people who were likely to buy an iPhone were not dissuaded by the maps debacle. Almost a third (32%) of early adopters said that they’d be likely to buy the phone in the future and those that said they would be very likely to purchase it (19%) was almost double what it was for the iPhone 4S when the survey was conducted 12 months earlier.

When those who said they were unlikely to buy the iPhone (60%) were asked why, 0 percent of respondents cited problems with mapping software as the reason.

Despite the media attention surrounding both the Apple Maps issue and the Apple lightning port issue, neither has had an impact on the massive numbers of buyers queuing up to buy the iPhone 5, said ChangeWave’s research director, Paul Carton.

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