Sales of Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphones increased 81.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. RIM continued to expand its presence within the consumer segment and refreshed its portfolio with new models and form factors. RIM sales will receive a boost from its new products in the fourth quarter. Analysts said the Storm is RIM's most important product launch to date and has the potential to be a major product for the company.

Apple regained its No. 3 position in the global smartphone market and improved its market share to 12.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. Apple's shipments into the channel during the third quarter of 2008 approached 7 million units. However, Apple built up around 2 million units of inventory and Gartner's sales unit estimate reflects this. Apple's sales increased more than four times compared to the same period in 2007 as a result of wider geographical availability, new business model and lower pricing.

For the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Symbian commanded 49.8 per cent of the global sales to end users in the third quarter of 2008 (see Table 2) and for the first time its share went below the 50 per cent mark. Nokia's decline in smartphone sales during the quarter, and continued weakness of the Japanese mobile device market, have impacted Symbian's share. Gartner expects Symbian share to continue to erode next year but maintain its leading position in the market.

Table 2
Worldwide: Preliminary Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System, 3Q08 (Thousands of Units)

Note: The "Others" category includes sales of Sharp Sidekick devices based on the Danger platform.
Source: Gartner (December 2008)

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