Looks like AT&T had itself a pretty nice end to 2012. The big blue carrier announced this morning that it sold over 10 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2012, beating its previous record of 9.4 million smartphones sold that was set in the fourth quarter of 2011. This 10 million figure includes AT&T's best-ever quarterly sales of both Android and iOS smartphones, though the operator didn't offer up any specific sales numbers. 

Compared to previous quarters in 2012, AT&T's fourth quarter was especially strong in terms of smartphone sales, with Q1 resulting in 5.5 million units sold, Q2 with 5.1 million sold and Q3 with 6.1 million sold. While AT&T refrained from going into the details of its smartphone sales, there were a few specific factors of Q4 2012 that likely helped it to reach its 10 million stat. Not only did the holiday shopping season take place in that time, but Q4 also saw the first full quarter of availability for the iPhone 5 and the launch of the Galaxy Note II. 

AT&T is slated to announce its full Q4 2012 results on Jan. 24. The carrier hasn't typically gone super deep into its sales stats during those announcements, but it has offered up nuggets like iPhone activation numbers, so we may see a little more light shed on this matter later this month. How many of you contributed to AT&T's Q4 2012 smartphone sales by getting a new device? If so, what'd you get?

Via AT&T