Apple iPhone's Market Share Boom May Be Short Lived

The Apple iPhone beating out BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion (RIM) Ltd. for smartphone market share is being seen as a sign that the iPhone is making headway toward becoming not just a consumer device, but a corporate mobility tool.

According to a report released by Canalys, Apple has snagged 17.3 percent of the smartphone market in the third calendar quarter, placing it second in the world only to Nokia, which controls 38.9 percent market share. Apple's jump to second place knocks RIM's iconic BlackBerrys to No. 3 with 15.2 percent of the market.

And while it seems that consumers and corporate users alike are drinking the Apple iPhone Kool-Aid, Apple should enjoy the No. 2 spot while it can, because BlackBerry has a number of tricks up its sleeve that will likely ensure it regains its dominant position once fourth quarter numbers are tabulated.

Yes, the Apple iPhone has become a force to be reckoned with on the smartphone market, with device sales growing 523 percent from the third quarter in 2007, while RIM grew 83.5 percent. But looking at those numbers realistically: How long can Apple sustain such growth? RIM, on the other hand, has a proven track record of continued growth and device sales among the smartphone faithful.

Much of the iPhone's third quarter market surge came from this summer's release of the 3G model, and the integration of Microsoft Exchange e-mail helped it break through corporate walls. But with the recent releases of the BlackBerry Bold 9000 and the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 and the soon-to-be-released BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Curve 8900, aka the BlackBerry Javelin, RIM knows it's got market share on lock once the holiday spending season kicks into high gear.

The latest BlackBerry models, coupled with analyst predictions that Apple will cut iPhone production, gives RIM an edge in the ever-important fourth quarter, especially as RIM readies the BlackBerry Storm, its first touch-screen device and its first true iPhone rival, which is expected to hit stores sometime this month and pit BlackBerry firmly in the battle of the touch-screen titans. The fervor around the BlackBerry Storm is already being felt, with this week's news that Best Buy has launched pre-orders for the Storm.

And while BlackBerry has been adding more and more consumer-focused capabilities to its smartphone line, the Storm also marks the first time in BlackBerry's 10-year history that RIM is truly looking to corner the consumer market and shed its buttoned-down, business-only reputation. Where the iPhone is looking to break into the corporate world, BlackBerry is looking to do the opposite and break its corporate-only ties and hit the consumers. Both BlackBerry and the iPhone are hoping to be the crossover device du jour, but BlackBerry already has its feet firmly planted in countless enterprises where the iPhone is just starting to tread.

What exactly will transpire in the fourth quarter is anyone's guess, but with BlackBerry continuing to blur the lines between business and pleasure, it's certain to come out the victor.

And with the smartphone market being seemingly unfazed by the economic downturn -- just under 40 million smartphones were shipped in the third quarter, according to Canalys -- there's sure to be enough cake at the smartphone party to go around.