Sussing out the popularity and impact of the Verizon iPhone has been no easy trick. Verizon said it sold 2.2 million in the first quarter.

NPD today says that led to Android losing US smart phone market share for the first time in about two years. But most of the iPhone’s pick-up came at the hands of Blackberry.

The Android OS lost ground for the first time since Q2 2009, falling to 50 percent of smartphone unit sales in Q1 2011 compared to 53 percent in the prior quarter. Apple iOS share rose 9 percentage points to comprise 28 percent of smartphone unit sales. BlackBerry OS also lost ground, falling 5 points, to 14 percent. “The rise of Apple and HTC show how companies can drive change in a mature device market to change the rules of the game,” said Rubin. “The overall success of U.S. market leaders Samsung and LG will be tied to their success in the smartphone market.” –NPD press release, April 28, 2011

And yet Asian parts manufacturers say orders for further Verizon-compatible CDMA iPhone 4s have been slashed. Could it be due to sooner-than-expected dual radios in the iPhone 5?