Analyst confirms Apple slid past RIM to become number two smartphone vendor
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Nov 7th 2008 2:44AM
posted Nov 7th 2008 2:44AM
So apparently Apple knew what it was talking about after all. Research firm Canalys says that Apple stole the rug out from underneath RIM in the third quarter to become the world's number two pusher of smartphones, taking a hearty 17.3 percent market share compared to RIM's 15.2 percent and Windows Mobile's 13.6 percent. For what it's worth, the firm says RIM could very well bounce back in the fourth quarter with the Bold, Storm, and Pearl 8220 all ramping up in time for the holidays, but either way, number one platform Symbian needn't sweat any time soon; Nokia's baby managed to lose 21.5 percent share year over year, but they're still sitting pretty with 46.6 percent.How'd Apple manage to steal so much BlackBerry thunder (pun painfully intended)? Part of the evidence might lie in J.D. Power's just-released 2008 Business Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study, revealing that suits adore their iPhones, like their BlackBerrys just alright, and despise their Palms. Amusing to us was the iPhone's rating of a 5 out of 5 in the Features category -- the only contender to get a perfect score there -- despite the fact that virtually every other smartphone platform continues to outstrip it for raw capability. Usability, though, well... that's arguably another story altogether.
[Via AppleInsider]
Read - Apple outsells RIM
Read - JD Power rankings
Good unbiased post Chris :)
Well done to Apple, as much as I dislike their attitude to certain situations, they've done a good job marketing their phone and building up something that works well.
Sooo, How is Symbian so popular. I know folks with Blackberrys, iPhones, Palm phones and WinMo phones... But.. only Symbian phones I know of are High end Nokias "N-series" and Sony Eriksan smart-phones.
All nokia phones for a long time use the Symbian OS. The cheap phones use S40 and mid to high end use S60.
@ Duscrom,
You seem shocked that the iPhone isn't as popular as Symbian devices. (Must be an American like me...) Outside of the US, the iPhone isn't nearly as popular. We lead the world in buzz creation.
The Symbian OS and especially Nokia's Nseries and Eseries, are the world's most powerful and popular devices spanning a multitude of similar specialized models vs. one Apple model. You may know about Apple's iPhone, but Nokia's N95 greatly outsold it worldwide with 11 million sold and counting, and has been the real global smartphone phenomenon for people that need a device with more features and capabilities.
The only reason its not big in America is carriers are so afraid to carry the device because its so powerful, goes around all its apps and services profits with better, many times free alternatives, the unlocked models' mobile broadband radios only work on at&t's pitiful 3G network, and Nokia spends zero dollars marketing in America.
European and Asian smartphone users laugh at us Americans for favoring WinMo and iPhones, claiming them to be best, because everyone else knows the N95 8gb will absolutely embarrass an iPhone in most power usage and functionality tests that aren't rigged to favor simple tasks or avoids anything that requires alot of computing power. In fact, I'll be make the bold claim that my N95 8gb can perform every task the iPhone can, but all at once.
I wrote this comment on my device, and have replaced my laptop with it. The iPhone couldn't replace a laptop in anyone's imagination. So point blank, Symbian is more popular because its so much better.
Claims of difficult to use interface are unfounded. My teenage niece and nephew had no problem figuring it out, and they both agree it does way more than an iPhone, and more like their desktop PC. It only needs 2 buttons and a D-pad to operate. That extra button will only throw off the folks that need lessons to use Windows. And using it will immediately prove Symbian has 50x's more features and functions. Nseries devices take pictures and videos of such high quality, your iPhone can't even open them. The iPhone is simply to underpowered to open such high spec files. It can't even compare to an N95 8gb's DVD quality video capture, 5 megapixel camera with pro grade camera optics for the best photos on a phone, and ability to install ANY app the user wants.
@ EvilPaul,
Don't mislead by claiming Symbian's dominance is mostly attributed to featurephone sales. They have nearly no US marketshare despite plenty of featurephone sales. They have 40% of global SMARTPHONE SALES. That's multitasking, open app installation, S60 Nokia devices, not S40. Americans aren't very exposed to them, but the world isn't stupid, we are.
christexaport: Oh I'm much more knowledgeable then to think that the iPhone is as popular elsewhere as it is here. I actually just didn't know where the extent of Symbian's market is. I will admit my foolishness at thinking that the US was a major part of the Cell Phone market. (blame me for being a gamer where the US us over half the market)
Though I have to ask, And be, honestly impressed that you could write up such an extensive post without a hardware keyboard. (Owns an HTC Titan, aka Sprint Mogul)
@chistexaport
Care to elaborate on your statement that "The iPhone is simply to underpowered to open such high spec files"?
Every source I've seen puts the iPhone's Processor (Samsung S5L8900 - 667MHz underclocked to 412Mhz) significantly ahead of the N95s (332 MHz Texas Instrument OMAP 2420). Additionally, the iPhone's 128MB DRAM equals or betters the N95's 64-128MB (depending on model).
Having used both the N95 and the iPhone 3G extensively, I'm afraid I would beg to differ on most of your claims. While the N95 obviously has a vastly superior camera, claiming it has "pro grade camera optics" and records at "DVD Quality" is exaggerating somewhat.
As for your sale numbers, by most counts they appear to be roughly tied when you compare them based on how long they have been on the market. The Nokia N95 celebrated 10 million sales in April 2008, ~13 months after is launch in late March 2007. In comparison, the iPhone had 13 million sales by October 2008 - ~15 months after its launch. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, neither company has recently announced the reaching of the same milestone, making direct comparisons slightly difficult.
I am in no way claiming the N95 is a bad phone - I have used it extensively and it most certainly is not - however your comment appears to have a number of pretty severe misconceptions and unfairly portrays the iPhone in a negative light.
isnt the iphone NOT a smart phone ???/
I totally agree. So do others.
http://smartdreaming.blogspot.com/2007/03/what-is-smartphone.html
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/the-iphone-is-not-a-smartphone/
http://www.bbhub.com/2007/01/26/analysts-think-iphone-is-not-a-smartphone/
Exactly what I was thinking?? How is the iPhone a smart phone? It's not a PDA.
THANK YOU!
I was starting to think that everyone had forgotten this! Unfortunately the term "smartphone" is being used a lot less accurately these days. I would say that it is due to Apple's marketing towards a less tech-savvy audience (it just works). This audience is more prone to calling it a smartphone simply because it has the internet and a touchscreen (which I don't need to point out existed in the mobile arena long before the iphone)
@christexaport
The dates from your links are from last year... The new 2.1 software does support 3rd party apps, does sync with exchange OTA, does provide push email, as well as VPN connections. Get your facts straight... Nokia is currently feeling the pressure from loss of market share but seems (so far) unable to respond.
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/15888.cfm
Their dominance does not stem from smart phones but cheap flip phones that are given away for free by providers around the world.
The iPhone does not have true support for 3rd party apps. All apps have to get Apple's approval before being available to the phone. This is vastly different from being able to install whatever you want on your own phone. Please do not accept this, you deserve more.