Research in Motion picks up smartphone share at Apple's expense

Just wait until June 9th

aaplcentral.com

You're kidding right? What you are wittnessing is the greatest feat of planned obsolescence of all time. Rim picked up market share only because Apple intentionally ran out its first version of the iphone. Watch next quarter and see who picks up market share at who's expense.

YE OF LITTLE FAITH.
I GUESS YOU THOUGHT THEY STOPPED SELLING IPHONES BECAUSE THEY RAN OUT OF WRAPPING PAPER AND BOXES.
NAY, THEY ARE DUSTING OFF THE SHELVES FOR THE FASTER AND AGAIN IMPROVED IPHONE.
KEEP IN TOUCH. AND FIND A BUYER FOR YOUR BLACKBERRY MEANTIME.
BILL

Unbelievable. It's like the author hasn't heard of the nearly 70 countries the iPhone will be released in this year or that the potential iPhone users is close to 700,000,000 subscribers (without mainland China, Russia, Japan and Korea). Please be aware that RIM has nothing close to the iTunes Media Store for delivering apps, movies, TV programs, games and music to handset users.

And for browsing the internet, forget BlackBerry. The only thing the iPhone is lacking is RIM's encrypted server which is definitely a powerful tool for RIM. Still, the iPhone has only been in existence a year and the BlackBerry has been around for many years. Yet, I'm confident iPhone sales will exceed BlackBerry sales within another year and a half if not sooner.

This slight loss of iPhone sales will not even matter by the end of the year. 12 million iPhones sold will be a certainty.

sales were down as folks are waiting for the 3g version, when they arrive the iphone will bury rimm.

Actually RIMM lost 4% YOY and the IPhone has been difficult to acquire for the past quarter. The IDC numbers are based on what? Educated guesses. What were the good folks saying at IDC three years ago at Apple? Where were these thought leaders then? Bashing Apple has become a game that seemingly well intentioned investment letters have conducted to garner free press for themselves.
Recently an analyst downgraded Apple only to turn around and upgrade a few weeks later. Why? Simply for the press.

If you really believe Apple is going to go down and stay down short it. Short a 1000, maybe 2000 shares at the open Monday and turn off your computer until Dec. 31. Are you getting a queasy feeling in your stomach? And BTW, how are RIMM's computers selling? And, how are they doing in the music retailing arena? Any RIMM TV on the horizon. Not available in many countries yet or maybe it is? Of course the RIMM stores are going great guns? Correct? Look at that P/E much less than Apples? Correct?

Beltway Greg
$260 Dec. 31, 2008.

There was no iPhone shortage between January and March. This is the effect of Christmas sales, nothing else. Apple is selling mostly to consumers, so its Q4 sales of iPods (and now iPhones) are usually twice of its normal quarterly sales.

For a better picture wait until the end of this year and compare market shares year over year.

@Beltway Greg
Apple's iPhone sales are no secret, IDC just took them off Apple's quarterly reports. They sold 1.1 m iPhones in Q3'07, 2.3 m in Q4'07 and 1.7 m in Q1'08.

It is interesting to me that this 'article' has had little or no 'media attention', but I believe it significant to RIM's global market growth share. I also believe that if this was Apple (of which I have been a user of since the 80s) it would have made headlines:

"China Mobile Launches BlackBerry Service For Corporate Customers

Frederick Yeung -- South China Morning Post , May 15, 2008 Thursday

China Mobile launched it's mainland version of the BlackBerry e-mail device this week for corporate customers, hoping to strengthen its base of high-end users prior to the industry's restructuring, which could spark further competition.

The nation's largest mobile operator launched one model of the BlackBerry device that is tailor-made for mainland users. The Blackberry 8700 - and the phone and e-mail service package - started selling in more than 100 outlets.

However, retail customers are still not allowed to join the BlackBerry service, according to China Mobile's website.

There is market speculation that China Mobile acquired fewer than 10,000 BlackBerry devices in the first round of procurement.

If corporate users commit to a two-year contract with a 598 yuan ($668HK.03) monthly tariff for the BlackBerry service - and make a prepayment for 13 months for 7,774 yuan - they can have a new 8700 device for only 1 yuan, according to the operator's customer service hotline.

China Mobile also offers two BlackBerry service-only packages to corporate users with monthly tariffs of 398 yuan and 598 yuan. The packages include 50 megabytes and 400 megabytes of mobile data usage.

China Mobile's rival China Unicom launched a mobile e-mail service called RedBerry two years ago to compete with the BlackBerry.

"The BlackBerry service should be popular in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai as executives of foreign firms are the potential users," a China Mobile executive said.

"China Mobile will not push the BlackBerry for the mass market following their strategy not to put too much focus on foreign technology," said a telecommunications equipment sector analyst yesterday.

"Mobile e-mail service involves the transmission of sensitive information related to corporate or government information. While mainland equipment vendors like ZTE and Huawei Technologies are facing obstacles in getting into the North America market, the mainland government could adopt the same strategy to scale down the launch of foreign technologies," the analyst said.

China Mobile reached an agreement with Canadian-based Research in Motion to bring the BlackBerry service to the country in 2006. China Mobile launched the service in late 2006. However, it was limited to service subscriptions for imported BlackBerry devices."

I'm senior contributing editor at a tech blog.

One of our regular Mac-haters was so virulent when Apple stock tanked along with the rest of the tech market, I couldn't resist picking up a chunk for myself.

Made 50%, so far, and we ain't even at WWDC, yet. I love it. Most analysts don't know diddly-squat.

Tom,

No IDC surveys retail outlets. Read the Fortune article. The IPhone wasn't in the market Q1 last year and RIMM actually lost market share YOY.
Of course, I get the premise that RIMM gained from Q4-Q1. A little history lesson regarding surveys of retail outlets. If you're a rocker of a certain age you might remember record stores. For years record sales were reported based on surveys and young dudes like Peter Frampton and groups enamored of flying pigs, Pink Floyd, were living large on the charts. Folks called the stores and your local bong buddie reported that "Yeah, dude, Floyd sold a boatload this week." Hardly scientific, but it kept Floyd on the charts forever. Then one day Soundscan came along and the Garth, The Cat in the Hat, Brooks' record "No Fences" became the number one record in the land. I heard stories from friends in the record biz of how folks like country comedian Jerry Clower sold millions of records from racks in gas stations mostly down South and never really received his just desserts or royalties for that matter because those bucolic burgs were surveyed. Lesson? Never trust anything that relies on human perception. Perception is for painters and feelings are for Morris Albert and analysts.

Is Apple being treated like the original Larry The Cable Guy? Time will tell, time will tell.

Beltway Greg
BTW, what does Charlie Pride think of Cowboy Troy?

Will you guys please cover the story regarding Apple's newest patent to include solar panels on the iPhone? There is a bit discussed here: http://geekygadgetry.com/2008/06/solar-powered-iphone-gives-geeks-reason.html

... but I really want your take on the monetary aspect of it.