According to data from the NPD Group’s latest Smartphone Market Update report, the BlackBerry Curve unseated the iPhone 3G as the top-selling smartphone in the U.S. in Q1 2009. The iPhone 3G came in second, followed by the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Pearl, and the T-Mobile G1. NPD attributes the jump in BlackBerry sales to Verizon Wireless’ “buy-one-get-one” promotion. BlackBerry maker RIM’s consumer smartphone market share increased 15 percent to nearly 50 percent of the smartphone market in Q1 2009 versus the prior quarter, while both Apple and Palm saw their share decline by about 10 percent. Overall, smartphones made up 23 percent of all U.S. handset sales in the quarter, compared to 17 percent in Q1 2008.
“Verizon Wireless’s aggressive marketing of the BlackBerry Storm and its buy-one-get-one BlackBerry promotion to its large customer base contributed to RIM capturing three of the top five positions,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at The NPD Group. “The more familiar, and less expensive, Curve benefited from these giveaways and was able to leapfrog the iPhone, due to its broader availability on the four major U.S. national carriers.”
8 comments
Competition is good.
Competition is good, thats correct. Is the blackberry on the same level like the iPhone? In my opinion “no”.
Blackberry has a name which is well known in the business world. Where the iPhone is well known in the regualr user world.
Is the iPhone capable to go into the business world on the blackberry’s level? “yes”
It will happen once the users see that the iPhone is as secure as a blackberry and they trust. so far it is coming along slowley. The main market appears to be the regular user and students.
The business individual slowely catches up, and it will go better once companies include thei iPhone in their exchange server setup.
also, IF VERIZON will get the iPhone contract, this will boost.
We all can admit that APPLE did good, and compared to other devices, APPOLe is outstanding.
it took blackberry many years to come to this point, to this level ov recognition. now look at APPLe, it took them not even 2 years and they are on top of the game.
Of Course we know about touchscreens long before APPLe included it in the iPhone BUT ask your self this question: How much longer would have other cellphone companies hold back on the Touchscreen fucntionalilty/ web capability? If APPLe would not have designed the iPhone.
I would said another 3-4 years we would have these regular phones like the nokia 😉
Think about it.
sorry for the MISS spelllliiinng lol
IMO, the only reason Apple was able to achieve such success in a short period of time was that they were taking advantage of the halo effect from the success of the iPod. RIM, on the other hand, had to build its reputation from the ground up.
you are right.
On the other hand BLACKBERRY is well known and well integrated in the business area. Even on DoD level only blackberry is allowed. It will take APPLE another jump to hit this level good.
RIM is on the forefront in this area but soon as the iPhone provider support will open up more, im sure this will be a positive step for APPLE.
Blackberry also offers a range of devices at different price points and on different carriers. This gives buyers (especially businesses) choice and doesn’t force them to jump ship to get the device.
Don’t underestimate the importance of this: a business may have dozens or hundreds of mobile device users and plans with a carrier or two with shared minutes, free network calling, and very favorable pricing. You don’t toss that out the window lightly to bring a new device in-house.
Also, I know Apple is making strides with regard to management and control of the devices in enterprise settings but as far as I know, it’s a far stretch from what RIM offers via BES. Those kinds of controls are important in a larger organization for both support and policy reasons (not to mention security and compliance regulations).
Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the iPhone’s strengths are in the rich media and application area. Blackberry is catching up in this area but has a long ways to go (esp. in the media area and with applications outside of productivity apps).
However, those areas are most likely not the primary decision factors for a business. For a business, it’s going to be carrier, plan, and cost followed by communications features and management. Depending on the organization, things like media and lots of apps may not be supported or allowed. Generally, businesses give employees these devices so they can communicate and be in touch (voice, email, maybe IM) at all times. Other productivity functionality is secondary and when it’s important it’s usually tied to organization apps and usage: connection to a sales application or CRM for salespeople etc.
Just my thoughts.
i guess when you give them away, that is one way to move more units…if it were a loss leader, maybe fine, but it’s their core product. How do they make money? I guess off subscription revenue and server software….