Apple Retains Third Place in Smartphone Sales
Posted 08/12/2009 at 7:58pm
| by J Keirn-Swanson
Despite being a
late player to the mobile phone market and the typically higher prices
charged for Mac products, Apple's iPhone has managed to move into third
place globally behind Nokia and Research in Motion.
While Nokia
retains a commanding 45% of the market in smartphone sales, the
manufacturer is also the oldest currently selling and has seen its
market share shrink. Blackberry manufacturer RIM's models make up 18.7%
of the market with Apple hot on their heels with 13.3% of the market.
The 5.4 million iPhones in sold in 2009's second quarter represents a
sixfold increase over the 892,000 sold during the same quarter of 2008.

These figures don't reflect Apple's introduction of the 3GS
iPhone nor the price reduction of the 8GB model down to $99. Continued
expansion into the international market will likely add to these
improvements. It seems almost a sure bet that Apple's position in Q309
will continue to look solid or show better growth than their rivals.
Could a move into second place be in the cards?