RIM still king

At least for the meantime. Judging by ComScore‘s latest numbers Research in Motion is still hanging on to the lead despite their issues with India. Apple is closely behind with Google Android users gaining quickly. Has this been the year of the Android? The last quarter’s gains seem to have been at the expense of the rest of the industry. Noticeably absent from that list: Nokia. I don’t know what they are doing over at HQ but they’d better get the ship turned around and quickly. Also things aren’t looking good for the Windows Mobile platform. At this rate they will be squeezed out of the mobile arena in no time.

RIM 39%
Apple 24%
Android 17%
Microsoft 12%

Android platform surges ahead

Research in Motion (36%) is still king for the time being but there’s a new number 2 mobile platform. Android (28%) has overtaken Apple iPhone (21%) OS in popularity. The number of handsets available across multiple service providers probably has a lot to do with the Google platform’s success. The Apple iPhone is still only available exclusively through AT&T in the U.S. Sprint meanwhile has decided to stop selling the Nexus One. (link) The sales of the Google phone are lagging significantly behind the iPhone however the OS continues to show up on more and more phones.

Perhaps we are seeing a consumer backlash from recent corporate Apple behavior. Problems with AT&T’s 3G service, the arbitrary app store approval process, closed OS platform, public spat with Java, and the mishandling of the lost iPhone prototype. However if you love Apple, you will still love them regardless. On the other side, if you dislike Apple you will continue to do so. Each side remains polarized as ever.

Future Looks Good

For Apple that is. It has been reported that 300,000 iPads were sold in a single day. Not too shabby for a magical device. By now you may have been one of the lucky ones to see one in the wild, perhaps even touch one. Ooh, goosebumps. Now you’ve got another Apple device to buy those precious little apps for. Even if you already have one for your iPhone or iPod, you NEED to get that app for your iPad. It just seems right. Another $0.99 to line Apple’s pockets. Steve Jobs thanks you very much.

Remember the good old days when Microsoft was the stock market king with $500 billion market cap and Apple was a mere $16 billion? But at middle age both companies seem to be headed in opposite directions. Microsoft is settling in, looking forward to retirement while Apple is just getting warmed up. At least there’s some good news for Microsoft. Windows 7 continues to sell well is on a faster pace than Vista. And people, stop using Windows 2000, 98, and ME.

Are you happy yet?

Apple fanboys should be happy about this bit of news. It would appear that Apple is planning to release a “tablet” like device that will cost between $500 and $1000. Shareholders were also happy as the stock hit an all time high of $209.35 How much is Steve Jobs worth now? Is he approaching Bill Gates yet? Got your credit card out already? You’ll have to wait until March or April before you get your hands on this shiny new Apple branded device. Plenty of time for you to speculate what colors it will be available in.

I’m guessing it will be offered in a pro version of some kind, built in SSD, and video/photo editing software. Now what accessories should I be buying?

One Trick Pony?

Apple stock has hit a new high … again. Sales are up, Macs are showing up in more homes than ever, iPhones are everywhere, and things are super fantastic in Apple land. Are we getting a little ahead of ourselves here. While stock owners are smiling ear to ear, analysts are a little more critical. Has Apple become a one trick pony? Sure, Macs and Macbooks are being bought up by consumers but overall Macs makeup a small percentage of overall computer sales. The bulk of the revenue is coming from iPhones. How many more iPhones can Apple continue to sell? Eventually the market will become saturated and increased competition from Android phones will only bring down the Apple train.

Another concerning factor was the less than spectacular sales numbers of iPods. An 8% drop from the previous year. Quite a significant drop. Despite being the clear leader in portable media device less people are buying iPods. For a while Apple’s newer versions brought something new to the table but the latest iPods seems to have stalled in the innovation department.

Bottom line, sales numbers are up. That’s good but Apple engineers hopefully are working on the next big thing to give shareholders something to look forward to.