Blackberry Still Leads Smartphone; iPhone Up to No. 2

From the “it’s only paranoia if you’re wrong” file: Apple Inc.’s iPhone has claimed the No. 2 market position for the U.S. smartphone segment, according to a new report from the NPD Group. Research in Motion is still hanging onto that No. 1 spot, though now that Best Buy is selling the iPhone too, RIM best be going into worst case scenario mode by *totally* pimping out the next Blackberry.

And so, maybe the perception that iPhone seems to be everywhere (at the restaurant, in the museum, behind that bush...I SWEAR IT IS FOLLOWING ME!) is not just one’s imagination. And all the scrambling on the part of handset makers to block and tackle the device’s competitive impact now looks quite prescient.

While mobile handset sales in general are declining in the U.S., a product of everyone except this reporter/commentator’s pet fish having one, smartphone sales actually increased by a whopping 71 percent for the first part of 2008, meaning that more and more subscribers are upgrading to take advantage of data applications. The far-reaching consequences/opportunities for carrier networks, femtocells, 3G monetization and backhaul requirements speak for themselves.

Source:

mocoNews.net: RIM Still Leads U.S. Smartphone Market; Apple Leaps To Second: Report

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