mobileu.co.uk

Apple iPhone closes in on Blackberry's smartphone market share

The Blackberry may still be the consumer smartphone of choice but the Apple iPhone is rapidly catching up, new figures show.

ChangeWave Research has published data indicating that Blackberry manufacturer RIM retains a 40 per cent share of the smartphone market, but this marks a dip of one percentage point since the organisation's last survey in June – and the lowest share the company has registered in two years.

The study of over 4,000 consumers found the iPhone to hold a 30 per cent market share, a boost of five percentage points since the iPhone 3GS's release.

Apple users were revealed to be almost twice as likely than the customers of the second-placed Blackberry to say they are "very satisfied" with their smartphone. Of those who plan to buy a smartphone in the next three months, 36 per cent said they'll go for an iPhone, compared to 27 per cent who are looking to the Blackberry.

Eight per cent intend to purchase a Palm Pre, though ChangeWave's research director, Paul Carton, commented: "Palm remains far behind in third place, but we note that this is the first survey in nearly two years where their share hasn't fallen – and that's a clearly encouraging sign."