Apple iPhone loses US market share to RIM, Palm
Published: 03 Jun 2008 09:16 BST
Apple experienced a setback in the US smartphone market during the first quarter, after emerging last year to rank among the top companies.
According to data compiled by research firm IDC, Apple remains the number-two smartphone maker in the US, behind RIM and the BlackBerry franchise. However, Apple lost market share between the fourth quarter and the first, while RIM and Palm gained, according to the figures provided by IDC analyst Ramon Llamas.
RIM's market share went from 35.1 percent in the fourth quarter to 44.5 percent in the first, while Apple's dropped from 26.7 percent in the fourth quarter to 19.2 percent in the first. Palm's Centro lifted that company's market share to 13.4 percent in the first quarter, up from 7.9 percent in the fourth. Samsung and HTC ranked fourth and fifth in the US market, with 8.6 percent and 4.1 percent of the market, respectively.
During its most recent earnings call, Apple revealed that it sold 1.7 million iPhones, down from the 2.3 million units that the company sold during the fourth-quarter holiday shopping season. Both RIM and Palm grew their shipments on a quarter-by-quarter basis over roughly the same time period — the dates do not match up precisely with Apple because RIM and Palm are on slightly different fiscal calendars.
It's not exactly clear what might have led to the decline. Both RIM and Palm have intensified their pursuit of consumer smartphone users: RIM from the high end, with devices like the Curve and Pearl, and Palm from the low end, with the $99 (£50) Centro.
Given the iPhone shortages experienced for several weeks ahead of the iPhone 2.0's expected US debut next Monday, Apple might have also lost share in the second quarter. But the company has consistently reiterated its intention to ship 10 million units in 2008, the first full calendar year that the iPhone has been on sale.
RIM sold 14 million BlackBerry devices during its 2008 fiscal year, which ended on 1 March.
Credit: Apple's iPhone loses U.S. market share in Q1 from CNET News.com
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