RIM holds lead in Canadian smartphone market, but ‘tenuous’: Report

Research In Motion Ltd. holds a “tenuous” lead in the Canadian smartphone operating system market as a “two-horse race” between Apple Inc. and Google Inc. is expected to take hold in other markets this year, a new report by ComScore Inc. said Thursday. With more than 9.1 million active smartphones in Canada, RIM’s Blackberry operating system accounted for about 32.6 per cent of the market at the end of 2011, according to data released in a ComScore report called “2012 Mobile Future in Focus.” Apple’s iOS held a 31.2 per cent share of the Canadian market at year’s end, and Google’s Android operating system held 27.8 per cent, ComScore said. “While RIM currently maintains the top position in Canada, the market dynamics are shifting and its hold is tenuous at best,” ComScore wrote. “Apple looks poised to assume the top position during the first few months of the year, though Android could surprise and get there first,” the report said. U.K. technology research firm Gartner Inc. said this month that nearly 13.2 million RIM Blackberrys were sold globally during the fourth quarter of 2011, down from more than 14.7 million in the same period in 2010. Investors will be watching RIM as the company plans to release its new BB10 devices and operating system in the latter part of this year. ComScore said the Canadian market “shows a very different complexion than most other markets,” where RIM is typically a distant fourth behind Android, iOS, and the Symbian operating system developed for Nokia Co. Those markets include the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and Spain. RIM ranks third in the U.K. market, behind Android and iOS, ComScore said. Nokia announced last February it will move away from the Symbian operating system towards Microsoft Co.’s new Windows Phone 7 OS. Android and iOS look “set to define the smartphone landscape in 2012” and are “teeing up what some envision as a two-horse race in 2012,” ComScore said. “Fighting an uphill battle, the year will be critical for both RIM and Microsoft, as both brands attempt to rejuvenate their OS in the minds of consumers.” ComScore said smartphone sales in a number of countries, including the U.S., Italy, France and Gemany, surpassed feature phone sales in 2011. Canada's smartphone sales have exceeded feature phone sales since last June, the report said. The firm estimated that smartphones will surpass the 50 per cent market penetration threshold in Canada in 2012, overtaking feature phones as the most widely used mobile devices. ComScore compiled data through surveys of mobile users aged 13 and over in eight different countries between October and December 2011. An estimated 5,000 Canadians were surveyed. news@thewirereport.ca

RIM holds lead in Canadian smartphone market, but ‘tenuous’: Report

News | February 23, 2012

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