Apple iPhone Lost Ground In Smartphone Market In Q4 2009

According to a newly released market research report, it has been revealed that Apple’s blockbuster smartphone offering, the iPhone, has lost a significant amount of market share in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The data released by ABI research, a New York based market research firm, suggests that Apple’s share in the smartphone market fell despite the fact that Apple’s iPhone sales figures increased in the 3rd and 4th quarter.

It was reported that Apple’s iPhone accounted for 16.6 percent of global smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2009 as compared to 18.1 percent in the third quarter, suggesting a shift in consumer buying trend.

Interestingly, the report revealed that Apple sold around 8.1 million iPhone units in the fourth quarter citing a 18 percent increase in sale from the third quarter, but still didn’t manage to hold on to its market share as the overall smartphone market increased by 26 percent.

Several industry experts are of the opinion that the fall in the market share is due to the skyrocketing popularity of Google’s Android smartphone platform, as Motorola has managed to grab an impressive smartphone market share of 4 percent thanks to the Android smartphones launched by the company.