The NPD Group just released its US smartphone sales numbers for first-quarter of 2009, and according to their numbers, Edge had BlackBerrys in 3 of the top 5 positions, and managed to topple the iPhone 3G from the pinnacle of the list.

Despite its early launch troubles, the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm seems to be selling strongly, coming in a No three on NPD’s list behind the Curve and the iPhone 3G. After the Typhoon comes the ever-popular BlackBerry Pearl which, like the Curve, is available on all 4 major US carriers followed by the Android-powered G1 on T-Mobile.

So, how did the Curve manage to overtake the iPhone 3G?

Well, as the NPD group notes, availability on all of the huge carriers always helps ( the iPhone is, naturally, still only on ATT ), as well as its $99 ( with a new two-year contract ) price tag. And here is a probably troubling trend for Apple : the NPD revealed that Edge’s chunk of the smartphone market rose a solid fifteen % to a full fifty %, whilst both Apple and Palm ( which failed to land a handset in the top) both saw their stock fall ten percent.

Naturally, it might be that smartphone customers are holding off on both iPhones ( given that a new model could be pronounced as early as the month after next ) and Palm handsets ( seeing as the red-hot Pre will probably go on sale in a matter of weeks ). Then again, never belittle BlackBerry, which still has some of the finest smartphones in the business and has price and availability on its side, while the least expensive, ATT-only iPhone 3G stays at a rather lofty $199 ( with contract ).