RIM, Apple gain market share

BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion and tech giant Apple have gained market share during the first quarter of the year, new figures from analytics firm iSuppli reveal.

The company found RIM and Apple rose to the fifth and sixth most popular manufacturers during the quarter, and were the only two companies to actually record an increase in shipments.

Motorola recorded a 29.2% decline in shipments for the quarter, down to 8.5 million units. However, RIM saw shipments rise 3.6% to 10.5 million units, while Apple recorded an increase of 0.2% to 8.8 million units.

iSuppli said Motorola’s decline was due to the company’s strategy to move away from low-end handsets to more high-end smartphones. As a result, its profits have risen considerably.

“This shows that Motorola is on the right track in its product mix, focusing on more profitable devices like the Droid,” iSuppli analyst Tina Teng said in a statement.

“As the company works to transition its product line to smartphones tailored for social networking activities, and to reduce sales of lower-priced, lower-margin models, it stands to further enhance its profitability – and perhaps reclaim some market share.”