Apple, RIM Overtake Motorola in Phone Unit Sales

By Hugo Miller Bloomerg

Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry overtook Motorola Inc. handsets in global unit sales in the first quarter, helped by increasing demand for devices with video and Internet features.

RIM’s market share climbed to 3.6 percent and Apple’s rose to 3.04 percent, El Segundo, California-based research firm ISuppli said today. The two companies were the only ones to increase shipments from the fourth quarter. Motorola’s market share shrank to 3 percent from 3.6 percent.

Sales of smartphones like the iPhone and BlackBerry, which allow users to surf the Web, play video and send e-mail, are outpacing the market for more basic phones used mainly for calls and text messages. Apple and Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM are the only companies in the top 10 that exclusively make smartphones, according to ISuppli.

“The smartphone is reshaping the competitive landscape of the wireless business,” Tina Teng, an ISuppli analyst, said in the report.

Finland’s Nokia Oyj remains the world’s biggest mobile- phone maker, with a 37.4 percent share last quarter. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. was No. 2 with 22.3 percent and LG Electronics Inc. No. 3 with 9.4 percent.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. took the fourth spot, followed by RIM and Apple.

Motorola, North America’s largest handset maker by unit sales until last quarter, cut its range of basic models as demand slumped. The Schaumburg, Illinois-based company is rebuilding its handset business around smartphones based on Google Inc.’s Android platform.

RIM rose 9 cents to $66.25 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, climbed 40 cents to $254.22. Motorola added 6 cents to $6.85 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.