Apple pushes BlackBerry to third spot in smartphone market

There is more bad news for slipping BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM). According to the latest smartphone market data, BlackBerry is at third place as Google Android and Apple iPhone have further increased their share in the US.

Market research leader ComScore reported Tuesday that Google Android devices have carved out as much as 38.1 percent of the market share during the past three months.

During this period ending May, Google Android ranked as the top operating system with 38.1 percent of US smartphone subscribers, up 5.1 percent, ComScore said.

Apple bumped BlackBerry from number two position with 26.6 percent of the market share, up 1.4 percent.

BlackBerry was relegated to the third rank with 24.7 percent, slipping 4.2 percent during the period.

The share of Microsoft also shrank to 5.8 percent, down almost two percent, the report said.

In its precipitous fall in the American smartphone market, BlackBerry has lost its top position in a matter of months. Just last October, it was the top-seller with a market share of more than 33.5 percent.

By January, its share had fallen to 30.4 percent. Since then, it has been all downhill for RIM. With its aging handset line-up expected to be replaced only next year, the BlackBerry company, based at Waterloo near Toronto, has little chance of bouncing back.

On the Toronto stock exchange, RIM stock continued to hover around $27, sliding 46 cents Tuesday. The stock has lost more than 50 percent of its value since January and is at its lowest in six years.

RIM is currently valued at about $14 billion, down from $83 billion in June 2008 when its stock touched the $150-mark.

In the handset market, RIM was pushed to the fifth slot (by Apple), with its share shrinking to 8.1 percent from 8.6 percent three months ago. Apple gained 1.2 percent to control 8.7 percent of the handset market.

Samsung remained the topper in the handset market, with a share of 24.8 percent, followed by LG (21.1 percent) and Motorola (15.1 percent).