RIM the biggest winner for Q2 smart phone market share
Damian Koh | Sep 15, 2008
If you've been following the mobile OS market share war, Gartner's recent Q2 report should get you interested. According to the research firm, Symbian dominated global smart phone sales with a 57.1 percent market share (dip from Q2 2007, though). What made us sit up and notice was RIM leapfrogging Windows Mobile and bagging the number two position with a 17.4 percent market share. That's a remarkable 126 percent year-on-year growth.
One reason could be that recent BlackBerry models like the Bold, Pearl and Curve are creating a much bigger impact than we thought after shedding their enterprise image and adopting more consumer-led features. In the Windows Mobile camp, HTC has been very aggressive with its Touch series and doesn't look like it will back down anytime soon. So the fight for second place is likely to intensify over at least the next two quarters.
Other things to watch out for are Apple's Mac OS X and Google's upcoming Android at the end of this year, though we think the latter wouldn't have any impact on the market dynamics in the near future. If anything, Apple will likely move up the chart with the iPhone 3G equipped with Exchange capabilities, ousting Linux and taking the number four position in the smart phone market.
Who do you think will take the number two spot? Give us your thoughts in Talkback.
Credit: Gartner
Talkback
ferdiei says...
Symbian is number one (now) because many Nokia-toting people are unaware of OS working in their handset, while RIM may exceeded some forecast its doubtful if they would really make success out of their enterprise goal. Mac OS will slowly crawl up this ladder & the Android is poised to be the next big thing. i won't make any prediction but spot #2 won't be dominated by RIM in a not so distant future...along with this, I agree that customer service or at least after-market support adds value to its markets share
Sep 15, 2008 21:10
Symbian is number one (now) because many Nokia-toting people are unaware of OS working in their handset, while RIM may exceeded some forecast its doubtful if they would really make success out of their enterprise goal. Mac OS will slowly crawl up this ladder & the Android is poised to be the next big thing. i won't make any prediction but spot #2 won't be dominated by RIM in a not so distant future...along with this, I agree that customer service or at least after-market support adds value to its markets share
Sep 15, 2008 21:10
mobilemondaysg says...
The recent Blackberry range of devices has certainly boosted RIM's numbers. It is known that a significant portion of Blackberry users purchased their devices even without an email account activation! There are definitely more users commonly seen with a Blackberry these days. There will be three key factors that will determine the success of mobile devices now, namely 1) UI, 2) Aesthetic design and 3) Internet services. And so far, IMHO, iPhone has the greatest momentum now.
Sep 16, 2008 16:23
The recent Blackberry range of devices has certainly boosted RIM's numbers. It is known that a significant portion of Blackberry users purchased their devices even without an email account activation! There are definitely more users commonly seen with a Blackberry these days. There will be three key factors that will determine the success of mobile devices now, namely 1) UI, 2) Aesthetic design and 3) Internet services. And so far, IMHO, iPhone has the greatest momentum now.
Sep 16, 2008 16:23
ferdiei says...
blackberry for non-corporate client/s? more or less just poseurs who wants people to perceive them as important 'somebody' who totes a blackberry all around, then..for what else?
Sep 20, 2008 12:55
blackberry for non-corporate client/s? more or less just poseurs who wants people to perceive them as important 'somebody' who totes a blackberry all around, then..for what else?
Sep 20, 2008 12:55
To post comments, you need to become a member. It's FREE.
Crave is...
The name says it all. Crave is our new blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.
Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.
Crave for...
» Mobile Phones (956)
» Digital Cameras (556)
» Notebooks (687)
» PC & Peripherals (748)
» Handhelds (351)
» Printers (49)
» Home AV (642)
» Music & Play (524)
» Gadgets (1182)
» Future Tech (239)
Previously...
Copyright © 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.
wilswong
Hi all, I would venture to say that Windows Mobile's success is due largely to HTC's successful push for the OS with their cool gadgets. And this strength is also its most important weakness. HTC's lacklustre and often derided post sales service especially its technical support is really very bad and had left very bad taste for those HTC gadget users who happens to own lemons in their hands. If HTC can actually focus their after sales activities as much as their sales push, I would say Windows Mobile would gain better support at least in the asia pacific region.
Sep 15, 2008 17:50