Take note, however, that some of these devices are already practically obsolete. Some have seen their best days behind them, so their numbers will not go up anymore. Expect the Apple products, the Android phones, and the video game consoles to move up in the future. Those boiling just under the list include hot selling items, like the Sony PSP, and it may just move into the top ten soon. Android phones have been grouped together, as are Symbian phones.
Here is a list of the top ten most sold electronic devices in the world.
1. Nintendo – 555.06 million
Nintendo is a multinational electronics company based in Kyoto in Japan. It has been around since 1889, venturing into such businesses like hotels and taxicabs. It abandoned those businesses in favor of the video game industry. It achieved a breakthrough when it released Donkey Kong in 1981, with the licensing opportunities providing the company heaps of profit. It then launched the Family Computer in 1983, which was accompanied by Super Mario Bros., one of the best selling videos of all time. Its video game console has evolved to such products as Nintendo 64, the GameCube, and the Wii. These units have sold more than 555 million around the world.
The company also has hand held game consoles, starting from the Game and Watch of the 1980s to the 3DS. These have sold more than 80 million units.
2. Android Phones – 500 million
The first Android-powered mobile phone was released in 2008. Android is a Linux-based operating system designed for touch screen devices. It was developed by Android Inc. and backed by Google financially. Google eventually bought the company in 2005. It is part of the Open Handset Alliance, which is a consortium of hardware and software companies that follow open standards for mobile devices. Google usually works on the changes and updates until such time that it ready to be released. Google then makes the code public. Android phones include those made by Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Panasonic, Motorola, LG, HTC, Asus and Acer.
3. Symbian Phones – 500 million
Symbian used to be the most popular operating system for mobile phones until Android overtook it in 2010. Symbian is an open source platform that is maintained by Accenture. Its sales were boosted as Nokia used it. Nokia was the largest vendor of mobile phones for a long period starting in 1998. Declining sales forced the company to reevaluate, however, and it has dumped the Symbian operating system in favor of the Windows Phone operating system. The sales number of Symbian may have already topped off.
4. iPod – 350 million
Apple designed a portable media player called the iPod and revolutionized listening to music as a result. It is like Sony’s Walkman, only it can contain thousands of songs and the user does not need to carry around cassette tapes to play. It has several variants, like the iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. It has also been redesigned and improved several times. It can also serve as a data storage device. Sales may slow down, however, as the iPhone basically includes the functions of the iPod, albeit in a smaller scale.
5. PlayStation – 330 million
The PlayStation is a video game console created by Sony in 1994. It has evolved from the initial PlayStation that sold 100 million units in its almost ten years in the market, the PlayStation 2 that sold 160 million units in around seven years, and the PlayStation 3 that has sold more than 70 million units after nearly a couple of years.
Sony also has a hand held version of the gaming station called the PlayStation Portable. It has sold around 74 million units.
6. iPhone – 250 million
Apple originally released the iPhone in 2007. It is a smart phone that runs the company’s iOS mobile operating system. It is a music player, Internet device, gaming gadget, still and video camera, and much more, all rolled into one. It is probably one of the fastest selling single-manufacturer electronic devices in history.
7. BlackBerry – 200 million
BlackBerry is a wireless handheld device developed by Research in Motion. It was first released in 1999 as an email pager. By the second quarter of 2010, it had sold its 100 millionth unit. Just over a couple of years later, BlackBerry had doubled this number. It is a popular device because of its ability to send and receive push email and instant messages. It can also serve as a personal digital assistant, media player, gaming device, camera and Internet browser.
8. Xbox – 94 million
This is the video game console from Microsoft. It was the first American console since the Atari of the mid 1990s. It was first released in 2001, with an Xbox Live service following in 2002. The latter allowed users to play online using a broadband Internet connection. Xbox 360 then succeeded the Xbox in 2005. It features Wi-Fi connection and five USB ports. In 2009, Microsoft released Kinect, an Xbox 360 peripheral that allows users to control and interact with the games by using gestures and commands. It did away with the game controller.
9. Sega – 91 million
Sega first entered the video game console market in 1982 when it released the SG-1000. It later evolved to other consoles like the Saturn and Dreamcast. Stiff competition from Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo, however, forced Sega to give up its video game console line. The company decided to become a third party software publisher and ceased making game consoles.
10. iPad – 84 million
This is a tablet computer that runs on iOS. It was first released in 2010, and it has a user interface built around a multi touch screen and a virtual keyboard. In just a little over two years, the iPad already has a number of variants, ranging from the first generation classic to the fourth generation that features a retina display. An iPad mini has also been released.
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