Executive touts success of iPhone 5, Android models and excitement for Windows Phone 8 AT&T is on pace to sell a record number of smartphones in the fourth quarter, with strong sales of the iPhone 5 and Android phones such as the LG Optimus G and HTC One X, AT&T Mobile CEO Ralph de la Vega said today.AT&T sold 6.4 million smartphones in the first two months of the fourth quarter, compared with 9.4 million for all three months in the fourth quarter of 2011, he said. For all of 2012, he said AT&T is expected to sell 26 million smartphones. AT&T sold 6.1 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2012. De la Vega spoke at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference, which was webcast. De la Vega said he is also “really excited” about sales results for the Windows Phones that AT&T is selling, including the Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC 8X. Overall in the market, Windows Phones sales trail those of Android and iPhone. The expected fourth-quarter smartphone sales record for AT&T tracks with analyst projections for record growth for all smartphone carriers and other retailers globally. IDG on Tuesday said the 2012 holiday season will bring record fourth-quarter shipments to retailers of 224.5 million smartphones, a 39.5% increase over the fourth quarter of 2011. Smartphone shipments worldwide for all of 2012 should hit 717 million, 45% more than shipped in 2011, IDC also said. De la Vega also disclosed that AT&T signed up 5 million customers in less than four months to its shared data plan called Mobile Share, with one-fourth of them opting for 10 GB of data service or more per month. De la Vega and Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam spoke at the two-day conference, where both men separately said their companies are exploring the idea of toll-free data plans for customers, where application providers would pick up data usage costs on some wireless services. The concept has been broached for years, and neither executive offered many details.Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt’s RSS feed. His email address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.See more by Matt Hamblen on Computerworld.com. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe