Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) And Microsoft Vie For Third Place

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Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) are in a virtual neck and neck race for third place in the global smartphone market share. That’s according to the latest statistics from research firm International Data Corporation Worldwide.

Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) And Microsoft Vie For Third Place

Those numbers show that Android and iOS continue to be number one and two respectively in terms of the most popular smartphone operating systems. Together, shipments of devices using both operating systems made up more than 92 percent of the devices shipped during the first quarter of the year.

Microsoft  Climbs Over Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY)

Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) had been in third place, but it was overtaken by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Windows 8 phones during the first quarter. This is an important step for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), a relative newcomer to the smartphone market, and its partner Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V), which makes the Lumia Windows 8 smartphone line.

IDC Worldwide reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Windows Phones “posted the largest year-over-year gain among the leading operating systems.” In fact, it more than doubled its size over the same quarter a year ago.

The research firm attributed Microsoft’s gain to higher Lumia sales from Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V). The Finnish handset maker has shipped 20.3 million units since it began making Windows Phone handsets.

Bad News For Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY)

The fact that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) has fallen into fourth place in the smartphone race is also especially bad news for the company. The BlackBerry maker has been hoping for a revival through its new BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 handsets, which run the BlackBerry 10 operating system.

The company saw double-digit declines in market share from where it was a year ago, although all is not lost for the company yet. Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) still shipped over a million BlackBerry 10 units during the first quarter of the year. However, the majority of its sales are still BlackBerry 7 devices because they’re lower priced and more affordable in the world’s emerging smartphone markets.

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