• Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Thursday, November 11, 2010 10:40 AM

The global sale of smartphones during the third quarter nearly doubled over the same period last year, according to research firm Gartner, suggesting that not-so-smart phones that are only used for phone calls are quickly becoming relics of the 20th Century.

Phones powered by Google's Android OS represented 26% of all phones sold during the quarter, up from 3% last year. Apple's iPhone came in second, with 16.7% of the quarterly market share, down from 17.1% last year. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has a 14.8% share, down from 20.7%.

Speaking of white elephants, a report that regulators are approving phone companies' plans to stop making phone books is all over the web. Melissa Bell's blog about the trend in the Washington Post this morning contains a helpful video on how to rip those white pages in half.

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