Apple Passes RIM; Now 4th Largest Phone Vendor
Apple has surpassed RIM to become the number four phone-maker in the world.
Apple only entered the cell phone market in 2007 but it didn't take long for the company to make a name for itself with the iPhone. Now, three years later, Apple has officially passed BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion to become the number four phone vendor worldwide. RIM currently sits at number five on the list.
IDC says that Apple is only second smartphone-only vendor to make it to the top five – the first being RIM, which has been on the list for three quarters.
"The entrance of Apple to the top 5 vendor ranking underscores the increased importance of smartphones to the overall market. Moreover, the mobile phone makers that are delivering popular smartphone models are among the fastest growing firms," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.
"Vendors that aren't developing a strong portfolio of smartphones will be challenged to maintain and grow market share in the future."
And indeed Kevin is right. Number one on the list is the struggling Finnish manufacturer Nokia. Once the biggest name in the industry, Nokia is floundering when it comes to producing great smartphones, and IDC reports that while the company had 36.5 percent of the market for this quarter last year, it dropped to 32.4 percent this year.
"Nokia still leads all vendors by a significant margin for converged mobile devices and mobile phones as a whole," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team.
"However, Nokia's grip on the traditional mobile phone market has been somewhat loosened, as multiple Chinese vendors have gained ground, especially within emerging markets. To bolster its overall competitiveness, Nokia has been focused on improving its smartphone offerings."
Also suffering is Sony Ericsson, which dropped off the leader-board for the first time since the list was conceived in 2004. Despite missing its Q32010 targets, LG placed third in the top five. Samsung doubled the number of smartphone shipments from the previous quarter, and pushed through the 70 million unit mark for the first time in company history. Though Apple passed it, RIM also did well. The company posted record unit shipments for the quarter and is up from 2.9 percent marketshare in Q309 to 3.6 percent this year.
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It sure would've been nice to have the actual numbers in a table or something...
Im amazed to see how many units Nokia is pushin... rest of the world for the nokia win.
Im amazed to see how many units Nokia is pushin... rest of the world for the nokia win.
you're talking about nokia in a dying market, in the years of the inevitable smartphone dominance, i can almost guarantee you that you will not see nokia or lg on that list. in other words, you see nokia on top in that list its because of ANY type of mobile phone including cheap ass prepaid phones are being sold.
It's got to be the thing I like most about Apple, & I'm not an Apple fan. I'm happy that Apple could force everyone else to get serious with making Smartphones. I was tired of being the only one with an HTC for years. Now I'm not stuck with Windows Mobile & Android is forced to offer lots of Apps.
when apple makes a phone without glaring hardware flaws, they make an all right phone, and its great for their extensive library of fart apps, the problem being android phones catch up and outpace them not very long after release.
@braneman
Perhaps if you learned to spell brain, you may have a point...
@branemanPerhaps if you learned to spell brain, you may have a point...
Perhaps he actually means Brane. It is a word.
Just really disappointed that in today's world, nothing but style and flash and some marketing can actually overcome a seasoned veteran of the smartphone arena that innovated in useful terms. I mean sure, Apple was innovative in some ways but let's look at it frankly. All they did was help a bunch of attention-deprived people get addicted to useless games, while BlackBerries are running the world, producing GDP and actually doing good for the society...
Just a little rant.
eddierools, 'nothing but style and flash'?
Firstly - Apple phones pretty much set the benchmark for the whole smartphone market. Their phone is still the simplest, sleekest, most usable on the market, with the most apps. In key metrics such as battery life and screen quality, for example, they are so far ahead of the competition.
Secondly - I now own an Apple IPhone and I've not played a single game on it. I use it to operate my various business concerns and it is invaluable in that regard. Blackberrys and IPhones can both be used for business and both can be used for games. Don't be so ridiculously judgemental.
The only reason the Blackberry was popular is that it was the only real 'business' oriented phone, but over time businesses have grasped the obvious fact that the IPhone can be used just as well for business, and because it's easier to use it increases productivity.
And many people would argue that the elitist 'Blackberrys are running the world', meaning helping the big corporations to become richer at the expense of the smaller businesses, is not exactly doing 'good' for society.
In fact, I would go a step further and argue that a phone which is focused on personal relations, family, communication and simplicity does a lot more good for society than being driven by the bottom line.
I agree with ManOfTheWorld... except for the last paragraph.
''In fact, I would go a step further and argue that a phone which is focused on personal relations, family, communication and simplicity does a lot more good for society than being driven by the bottom line.''
You do realise this is Apple you are talking about? ALL companies are driven not by the bottom line, but by profit. Apple just seems to take this a little further than any other company with regards to their huge mark ups on their products.
I do not like the way Apple forces you to by in to their whole family. I may want their phone, but I do not want iTunes to manage my media, for example.
The problem for RIM is that blackberry is viewed as a professional business phone but many, while the iPhone is seen as the hip and cool phone. More of a status symbol then anything else.
If I where RIM i would release a phone under a name different then blackberry and market the hell out of it as the "hip" new phone. The Majority of the population does not even know the RIM name just know what a blackberry is.
Go figure.Apple stock has been driven down to just above $300, poised to fall through in Mondays trading and then this news. Surely to send the price higher.Knock them if you must but Apple is an amazing company.
The problem for RIM is that blackberry is viewed as a professional business phone but many, while the iPhone is seen as the hip and cool phone. More of a status symbol then anything else.If I where RIM i would release a phone under a name different then blackberry and market the hell out of it as the "hip" new phone. The Majority of the population does not even know the RIM name just know what a blackberry is.
No, the problem with blackberries is they stink at everything except business compared to other phones. They are still the best in corporate environments thanks to central management and security. But if all you want to do is brag about apps...BB has few that are worth having. Also their phones are slow...and every new OS fails to address that.
I've been a loyal BB user for years, but I am tired of the slowness and 10 minutes it takes to reboot the thing. Likely going Android or W7P if they are much faster and ofter keyboards.
Couldnt you have put a bigger image there. The images max res is way too low to see clearly.
You do realise this is Apple you are talking about? ALL companies are driven not by the bottom line, but by profit.
The bottom line is profit...
@rattyuk you are the first person in 3 years to even mention that, I would honestly like to thank you for that.
the point I was trying to make is that apple makes great phones if you don't look at the hardware flaws they don't fix(I would get a iphone 3g if an archos tablet wasn't cheaper), the app store that has is very elastic on what they actually let through and block(admittedly I'm assuming they have quality control).
Apple would be an amazing company if they didn't have the ability to turn a technical flaw into a major pr disaster just look at the antennae problem for the iphone 4, they could have included generic one color bumpers with the phones and reduced the price on the different colored bumpers, or they could have not tried to cover it up with a software patch.
you're talking about nokia in a dying market, in the years of the inevitable smartphone dominance, i can almost guarantee you that you will not see nokia or lg on that list. in other words, you see nokia on top in that list its because of ANY type of mobile phone including cheap ass prepaid phones are being sold.
Will it be so? In the next few years when tabs hit the market hard. Most people who buy them will realize they don't need a smartphone.
Conventional phones offer something that smartphone hardly offer: the ability to make reliable phone calls. Charge them once and they'll be in a standby mode for two weeks and they won't you let down when you want to make that important phone call. Smartphones are usable when you have them pluged in all the time.
Smartphone as too lame for gaming and to small for browsing and reading and when you used them properly their battery life is too short to be useful.
I LIKE IT VERY, VERY MUCH! When somebody puts a table with numbers on the web as an image. Especially a low resolution image - they way Tomsguide likes it the most!
You're a jokester, Tomsguide! A good one at that!
apple is doing well in spite of the reported problem. were the news overblown?
OK,
Can someone chime in and explain a couple of things to me:
1) Market share from the table is only based off of units sold during that quarter, not overall. Correct?
2) Numbers exclude OEM sales. How much does this effect the totals?
3) What is the current market share of in-use devices? I'd like to see those numbers.
" I may want their phone, but I do not want iTunes to manage my media, for example."
I may want Halo but don't wanna buy Xbox.......Why cant I play it on PS3?
Bunch of complaining nerds......
Couldnt you have put a bigger image there. The images max res is way too low to see clearly.
No, by the time Tom's guide copies this article from elsewhere the image has already been scaled down a few times.
A computer company with a single phone in it's portfolio is beating a phone company with a plethora of models. It actually makes me sad. Well, I'm still a BB enthusiast, cheers RIM!
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