IPHONE TAKES GLOBAL SHARE FROM BLACKBERRY –IDC

Apple Incorporated gained share from Research In Motion Limited's BlackBerry in the global smartphone market last quarter as customers snapped up faster and cheaper versions of the iPhone.

Apple, according to Bloomberg on Friday, claimed 16.1 per cent of shipments in the quarter, up from 10.9 per cent a year ago, researcher IDC said in a statement on Saturday. RIM, the second-largest global smartphone maker, slipped to 19.4 per cent from 20.9 per cent.

Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Steve Jobs, doubled iPhone revenue in the past year by expanding into China and rolling out a faster version of the touch-screen device. Smartphone shipments grew at double the pace of the overall handset market as more customers looked for phones with web access and more advanced features, IDC said.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, dropped $10.39 to $235.86 in Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has gained 12 per cent this year. RIM fell by $1.94 to $64.92 and has lost 3.9 per cent this year.

Smartphone sales rose by 57 per cent to 54.7 million units last quarter, and accounted for almost one in five phones sold, IDC said. That compares with a 22 per cent increase in the overall market.

Worldwide smartphone shipments would rise 30 per cent this year to 226.8 million, representing 18 per cent of all mobile phones, said Ramon Llamas, an analyst at IDC. By 2014, that number will almost double to 438.4 million phones, he said.

Nokia Oyj, the world's largest smartphone maker, kept its market share unchanged at 39.3 per cent last quarter. HTC Corporation, maker of some of Google Incorporated's Android devices, boosted its share to 4.8 per cent from 4.3 per cent. Motorola Incorporated, another Android manufacturer, rose to 4.2 per cent from 3.4 per cent, IDC said.