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?