Once again, the Apple iPhone made up more than half of Verizon Wireless' smartphone sales during the quarter, with 3.2 million devices sold.
Overall, Verizon Wireless sold 6.3 million smartphones during the first quarter - 2.1 million of which were 4G LTE devices. About 20 percent of smartphone sales were new Verizon customers; the rest were upgrades. Among those upgrades, 42 percent were buying smartphones for the first time.
But despite the growing number of 4G-enabled smartphones available from the carrier, most customers opted for the iPhone, which does not yet have 4G capabilities. Still, Verizon said it sold 500,000 - or 30 percent - more 4G LTE smartphones than the last quarter.
The latest iPhone, the iPhone 4S, came out in October and helped Verizon sell 4.2 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2011.
A report from Mike Walkley of Canaccord Genuity suggested that iPhone sales will now be on the decline until Apple unveils its next smartphone, BGR reported.
During the quarter, Verizon added about 501,000 new post-paid customers and 233,000 pre-paid ones. Among those pre-paid users, 138,000 bought tablets and 60 percent of those pre-paid tablets were for 4G LTE devices.
Verizon championed its 4G LTE network during a Thursday morning earnings call, reiterating plans to have a 4G footprint similar to its current 3G one by mid-2013. At this point, the network covers 230 markets, and the carrier sold 2.9 million 4G LTE devices during the quarter overall for a total of 8 million 4G LTE connections.
Verizon's Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi 4620L just earned a PCMag Editors' Choice. For more, see our full review. Also check out our iPhone 4S review and the slideshow below.