Research In Motion's (
RIMM
) BlackBerry
reportedly
took a back seat for third quarter smartphone shipments when
trumped by
Apple
(
APPL
).
According to a Fierce Wireless report citing research firm Strategy
Analytics,
RIM
shipped 12.4 million smartphones while Apple shipped 14.1 million.
Nokia (
NOK
) remains on the forefront with 26.5 million shipments of
smartphones.
If true, Apple soaring over RIM follows the prediction made earlier
this month by Apple chief Steve Jobs, when he said during the third
quarter earnings conference call that RIM would not catch up with
Apple. That prompted RIM chief Jim Balsillie to reply by contending
Apple skewed its figures.
Overall, the entire smartphone market widened significantly,
totaling 77.1 million. That figure is 78 percent higher than
shipments of the same product during the same quarter of 2009. One
Strategy Analytics analyst said this growth serves as a key
indicator for the smartphone market as the holiday shopping season
approaches.
But smartphone component suppliers, some of which struggled
throughout the year, may continue feeling the pinch when attempting
to fill demands because of equipment shortages.
