iPhone outsells BlackBerry globally

TORONTO - Within a week after Apple boss Steve Jobs declared victory over BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM), new numbers released Friday have confirmed that the iPhone has indeed surpassed BlackBerry smart phone in worldwide sales.

According to the data for the third quarter of 2010, the iPhone has dethroned BlackBerry from the fourth position in global popularity.

In releasing the latest numbers, IDC, a global IT research firm based in Massachusetts, said that with 4.1 percent share of the global smart phone market, the iPhone has surpassed BlackBerry which now has a share of 3.6 percent.

Thhus, the iPhone has made a gain of about 1.6 percent since last year.

With 32.4 percent share of the world smart phone market, Nokia still remains the global leader, followed by Samsung with 21 percent, and LG Electronics 8.3 percent.

Worldwide sales of smart phones during the third quarter rose to 340.5 million from 297.1 million units during the same period last year.

While Nokia sold 110.4 million units during the third quarter, Samsung 71.4 million, LG 28.4 million, Apple 14.1 million, and BlackBerry 12.4 million.

“The entrance of Apple to the top 5 vendor ranking underscores the increased importance of smart phones to the overall market. Moreover, the mobile phone makers that are delivering popular smart phone models are among the fastest growing firms,” said IDC senior research analyst Kevin Restivo.

“Vendors that aren’t developing a strong portfolio of smart phones will be challenged to maintain and grow market share in the future,” he said.

The report said Apple, RIM, and the vendors producing Android-based smart phones are now putting a huge pressure on Nokia, the market leader.

According to Ramon Llamas of IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team, “Nokia’s grip on the traditional mobile phone market has been somewhat loosened, as multiple Chinese vendors have gained ground, especially within emerging markets.”

Just last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs had told Canadian journalists, “We have now passed RIM, and I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable feature.”

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)