RIM, Apple lead the way among smartphones

The global mobile phone market is suffering due to phone subscribers willing to hang on to older phones, though the smartphone market offers a glimmer of hope, analysts continue to believe.

Specifically, the Research In Motion BlackBerry and Apple iPhone smartphones are expected to capture 58 percent of total operating profits from all phones sold in 2009.  Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff believes RIM and Apple only have 3 percent of overall phones offered to consumers in 2008, but had 35 percent of all operating profits, Modoff believes.  Along with having 58 percent of total operating profits, RIM and Apple will have 5 percent of all handsets sold.

Both companies benefit from phone carriers, including Verizon Wireless and AT&T, helping subsidize smartphones — AT&T subsidizes the iPhone by around $400, while Verizon helps subsidize each RIM BlackBerry smartphone by about $200.  The demand for smartphones, due to the high number of features available, tend to be more lucrative than regular phones that don’t generate large amounts of revenue.

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In 2009, the BlackBerry Curve smartphone kicked off Q1 by outselling the iPhone, though the Curve is available across four different carriers.  RIM still controls around 50 percent of the smartphone market in the United States, with Apple trailing in the No. 2 spot, as other manufacturers flounder in the market.

The Palm Pre smartphone, available exclusively on the Sprint-Nextel network, is an important phone for Palm and Sprint, though it appears sales aren’t as high as Palm would have liked.

Even though overall phone sales are struggling, analysts believe smartphone sales will continue to buck the trend, with the iPhone and BlackBerry continuing to lead the way.  Expect smartphone sales to capture a higher percent of overall phone sales throughout the rest of 2009 and into 2010.