The Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry Curve has outsold the Apple iPhone in the Q1 2009, according to NPD figures.
NPD analyst Ross Rubin added that the Curve was helped by its widespread availability (its available through Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon) and Verizon’s recent BOGO on the phone.
Overall, the Curve came out on top, while the iPhone slipped to second and the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm took third.
NPD did not release any numbers with the ranking but analysts believe RIM took about 50 percent of the smartphone market in the Q1, up from 35 percent in the Q4 2008. Both Palm and Apple fell 10 percent each.
Result for: curve
According to a new report from AdMob, the iPhone and Android platforms continue to gain mobile web surfing market share, taking away from former leaders Symbian and Windows Mobile.
The company uses metrics reports to measure what smartphones are most popular for mobile web browsing, and passes the information onto advertising firms.
The Android platform has grown 47 percent since the release last year of the T-Mobile G1. By itself, the G1 captured 6 percent of the OS market in the US, and was the fourth most popular smartphone to access the Internet, behind the Apple iPhone, and the two most popular BlackBerrys, the Curve and the Pearl.
The iPhone however, was in a league of its own, taking almost 50 percent of all market share. Globally, the iPhone is still big, with 36 percent market share.
RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, had 22 percent of the US market share and Windows Mobile followed in third at 11 percent. Palm tied with Android at 6 percent but will most likely gain share with the release of the Pre.
Result for: curve
Research In Motion (RIM) has officially launched the BlackBerry App World mobile store this week, two weeks after opening registrations.
The company did not say how many apps will be available, but what is known is that some are free, and the rest range from $2.99 to $9.99 USD.
The launch is generally seen as a way for RIM to compete with the Apple App Store, which hit half a billion downloads in January
and has over 6000 games available among tens of thousands of apps. Many of Apple’s apps are free or 99 cents, but can go as high as $9.99 USD.
Although it is trying to branch out to non-business users, it is expected the App World will be littered with business related programs more so than games.
The devices that support the App World are the Bold, Storm, Curve and Pearl. You will also need a PayPal account to purchase the apps.
