RIM's Blackberry is the most popular smartphone in the U.S., but Apple's iPhone is closing the gap quickly. RIM currently commands 40 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, and Apple holds 30 percent, according to data from ChangeWave.
The research firm interviews 4,255 consumers in September and found that 36 percent of the respondents planning to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days were choosing an iPhone. In contrast, only 27 percent planned to buy a Blackberry.
While Apple is rapidly gaining share in the smartphone market, RIM is slowly declining. Palm, once the dominant player in the smartphone market, has dropped dramatically from 36 percent at the beginning of 2006 down to seven percent in September 2009.
Apple's quick climb in the smartphone market has placed its numbers surprisingly close to RIM's. If the trend continues, the iPhone could soon be the best selling smartphone in the U.S.