Research-In-Motion (RIMM) shareholders have been concerned for some time that the Apple (AAPL) iPhone is such a good product that consumers would begin to switch to Jobs & Co. products. Those concerns have been exacerbated by the success of Google (GOOG) Android-powered smartphones.
New research shows why RIMM should be unsettled.
Crowd Science recently released a new survey which shows that the Blackberry still dominates that market for smartphones used for business though that market may not be large enough to support RIM’s rapid growth.
When Blackberry users were asked what kind of handset they would buy next, about a quarter said the iPhone and a third selected an Android-based product.
In some ways, the research is just as bad for Apple as it is for RIMM. The iPhone is a fairly “old” product that has been in the market for three years. Its appeal is supported by its huge App Store which has 150,000 software products which can only be used on the iPhone. The Android OS has only been available for a year, but smartphone users seem to like handsets with its features and functions as much as they like the iPhone. RIM and other smartphone operators that use operating systems other than the Apple or Android OSs have a problem. And, Apple has unexpected competition.
Douglas A. McIntyre [email protected]
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