Neil Mawston at Strategy Analytics:
Despite component shortages, smartphones continued to surge in the third quarter of 2010. Global shipments reached a record 77 million units and annual growth hit an impressive 78%. Apple was the star performer, as it overtook RIM and closed the gap on Nokia to the smallest level since first entering the mobile market in 2007.
This is big news. RIM has been shipping smartphones for a lot longer than Apple, the company’s inroads in the enterprise are incredibly impressive. As the iPhone has grown in popularity outside of the enterprise, more and more companies have been adopting them. Coupled with Apple adding enterprise-level security features and Exchange support over the years, the iPhone can replace the Blackberry for a large segment of workers.
However, RIM’s losing ground can be blamed on several things. Their first touch-screen phones didn’t do well, not to mention their lack of well-made apps and barebones media support.
With the latest version of the Blackberry software, RIM has tried to meet customers’ wishes. While time will tell, news like this isn’t reassuring that RIM can compete longterm with the iPhone.
Article via The Loop.
