iPhone threatening BlackBerry dominance

A ChangeWave  Research report now claims Research In Motion is facing continued pressure from Apple, as the iPhone closes the marketshare gap to the BlackBerry line of smartphones.

A survey conducted last month revealed RIM still has 40% marketshare, though that's the lowest percentage RIM has held since 2007.  Since June 2009, the iPhone captured another 5%, now controlling 30% of the smartphone market.

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Since June, Palm has retained 7% of the market, and the company hopes its Pre and Pixi smartphones, its two first WebOS-based devices, will help it gain a few percentage points down the road.  In June 2006, palm had 30% of the market, but has lost most of it as consumers begin to pick more robust devices.

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The smartphone industry as a whole is proving to be a revenue maker for phoone manufacturers, with the market growing significantly.  ChangeWave's survey found that 39% of those spoken with had a smartphone -- twice the number than in 2007.

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Wireless providers also have taken notice of this trend, as each of the top four in the US have shifted focus away from marketing voice plans to selling text and data plans to subscribers.  Verizon Wireless and others, for example, require anyone purchasing a BlackBerry to subscribe to a data plan during the phone's activation.

The cost of data per MB also isn't worth paying for occasional browsing, as prices remain high, tempting subscribers to sign up for unlimited data.

PC manufacturers such as Dell are expected to announce their entrance into the smartphone market soon, in an effort to capitalize on the ever-increasing consumer demand.  Expect the PC manufacturers who aren't already directly involved with mobile devices to begin launching their own phones, or provide hardware for new phones in the near future.

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