...Not the iPhone. It was the Motorola Razr V3. Not the new version of the Razr, mind you, but the ancient version of the Razr that used to be a trendsetter. My question is, should it really count as a "sale" when people are not actually paying for the phone?

The Motorola Razr V3 is available from AT&T and T-Mobile. It is free from both carriers with a new two-year agreement. The staying power of this phone is just unbelievable. It has long lost its luster, yet continues to dominate sales. This phone used to cost hundreds of dollars and was a luxury item only corner-office dwellers could afford. The Razr2 surpasses the original in almost every way, but it didn't even make the top 10 best selling phones.

Here is the full list:

1. Motorola Razr V3
2. Motorola Razr V3m (CDMA version of V3)
3. LG VX8300
4. Apple iPhone
5. LG Chocolate VX8550/8500
6. Motorola MotoKrzr K1m
7. Samsung SGH-A707
8. LG VX5300
9. Sanyo Katana II
10. Motorola V323i/V325i

This data comes from Strategy Analytics, which sampled only consumer phones. Smartphones weren't included in this set of data. Interesting that Strategy Analytics considers the iPhone a consumer phone (which it is), and not a smartphone. The iPhone did manage to make it to the top of AT&T's list of best sellers.

The bummer for Motorola is that even though it has four of the top 10 handsets, it ranked toward the bottom in earnings per sale with an average selling price of just $80. That's 40% lower than Motorola's competitors, according to Strategy Analytics. Apple's ASP has to be over $400, by way of comparison.

Even so, Chris Ambrosio, a director in the Wireless Practice at Strategy Analytics, noted, "While the iPhone gets the headlines, the Sync from Samsung and the Chocolate from LG quietly stole the show in the category of iconic, 3G feature phones. Samsung, in particular, is well-positioned to dominate 3G sales during the critical 4Q holiday season."

This also goes to show that many people are still making mobile phone purchasing decisions based on cost, and not cool factor or cachet.