BlackBerry grabs market share as the iPhone slumps

20.02.2009
There was quite a buzz in Q3 2008 when Apple reported iPhone sales numbers that appeared to beat RIM's BlackBerry sales for the first time. Even about "a spectacular performance by the iPhone -- we sold more phones than RIM." A closer look revealed the , but it was clear that the iPhone, a much newer device that is mostly unproven in the enterprise market, was gaining on the BlackBerry.

But the celebration may be premature. Recent numbers from IDC paint a different picture for Q4. According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker from February 2009, the data for all converged devices (i.e., smartphones) shows that Research In Motion (RIM) increased its U.S. market share from 40.4% in Q3 2008 to 47.5% in Q4. Apple, on the other hand, lost market share in the U.S., dropping from 30.1% in Q3 2008 to 22.3% in Q4.

T-Mobile, HTC, Nokia, Verizon and LG also increased their market share in Q4, while Palm, Samsung, and Motorola decreased their shares.

In terms of unit sales, the Apple iPhone dropped from to . RIM still has not announced its Q4 sales numbers (those figures will be released on April 2, 2009), but has said that sales of its new BlackBerry products, including the BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm, continue to be .

A number of factors have likely led to this dramatic swing, including the launch of (the Storm, the Bold and the Curve 8900) as well as the .

Melissa Chang () is the president of , and her blog can be found at .