Apple makes list of top 10 handset makers

Almost everyone would expect that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) would have the top spot among handset companies in the last quarter of 2007. Indeed, the big European company took over 40% of the market, up from about 36% the year before, according to research firm Gartner.

It also isn't surprising that Motorola (NYSE: MOT) did poorly; still, the magnitude of the drop was shocking. From that last quarter of 2006 to the last quarter of 2007, Motorola's global share fell from 21.5% to 11.9%. This allowed Samsung to move into the second spot with an 11.3% share.

The most remarkable numbers in the Gartner survey show the rise of expensive smartphones. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPhone took a 0.6% share of handsets sold, even though the product is not even a year old and is one of the most costly products in the market. RIM's (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry moved onto the top-10 list with a share of 1.2%.

If the trend away from less expensive phones and toward handset with more features continues, it would not be surprising to see RIM and Apple hitting market shares of closer to 5% at the end of this year. And that would be in a slowing market. According to the FT, "Global handset sales rose 16 percent in 2007, to 1.2bn devices, but Gartner estimates the market will grow by 10 percent in 2008."

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.