Toby Smith

RIMM Rising to AAPL's 3G Challenge

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The new 3G iPhone had Apple (AAPL) fans lined up around the block for days to get their hands on the hottest new technology. Research In Motion (RIMM) may be letting Apple get ahead of the game, but it isn't planning to let Jobs & Co. get to the finish line alone.

Two weeks before the 3G iPhone was unleashed on an excited marketplace, a ChangeWave Alliance consumer survey showed us that it was likely to make tremendous waves in the smartphone market. We all know what happened next -- an extraordinarily successful 1 million units sold in the first weekend alone!

Although Apple's market share in the smartphone market has skyrocketed from 4% to 11% in the past year alone, RIMM continues to prove that the cheese -- make that the big cheese -- stands alone atop the consumer market with its BlackBerry product line.

Our survey showed the 3G iPhone had catapulted Apple into the lead in terms of planned consumer smart phone purchases for the next 90 days. But remember that RIMM and its BlackBerry have a gigantic lead in the corporate smartphone market.

Plus, RIMM (whose market share remained unchanged at 42%) is also the leader among current owners in the consumer market.

Despite its current lead in both markets, RIMM isn't taking the Apple 3G challenge lying down. The Canadian manufacturer has multiple plans in motion to counter Apple's momentum among consumers, including an already announced new product release (the Bold) and two likely additional product releases (the Thunder and Kickstart).

Consumer respondents were presented a brief description containing key features of RIMM's new smart phone models, along with a follow-up question asking them how likely they were to buy each model if and when it becomes available.

As this chart shows, the new RIMM releases each show considerable potential among consumers once they actually get into the marketplace.

A total of 4% of respondents report they're Very Likely to buy the new BlackBerry Bold when it becomes available. Another 13% are Somewhat Likely.

Slightly less positive but nonetheless significant, 2% of respondents say they're Very Likely to buy a BlackBerry Thunder when available. A total of 13% are Somewhat Likely.

Another 2% say they're Very Likely to buy a BlackBerry Kickstart when it becomes available, and 11% are Somewhat Likely.

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