SURVEY SHOW APPLE EDGING RIM IN SMARTPHONE COMPETION

A survey conducted by market researcher, Crowd Science, revealed interesting information regarding the emerging competition between Apple and RIM. The survey indicated that four out of ten Blackberry and other smartphone users would switch to the iPhone for their next purchase. In comparison, only fourteen percent of non-Blackberry users would switch to a Research in Motion handset.

The Crowd Science survey indicates an overwhelming advantage for Apple but RIM has also been doing well. The BlackBerry maker recently reported a 33 percent increase in quarterly profits and 3.8 million new subscribers. However, 80 percent of RIM's recent new customers came from consumers and small business, rather than its traditional base in large enterprises. This figure suggest that large businesses are already saturated with BlackBerry users and the consumer market is the only significant avenue for growth.

The Smartphone survey also yielded other interesting information. For instance, it showed that 82% of iPhone users are loyal to Apple's hit handset. The survey also reported that 71% of smartphone owners use their handsets for both business and personal usages, with only 3% using them purely for business.

[Via: PCWorld]