Apple Inc. (AAPL) Dominates Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) On Its Home Turf, But It’s Getting Closer

Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) was truly in bad shape as a company. The best proof of this could be found in the company’s home country. Many countries around the world seem to have a certain sense of national pride  and loyalty to companies that started in their own countries. In many ways it is like that even in the tech world with Samsung, Sony, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).

This can also apply to Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY). So how bad did it get for the Canada-based mobile device maker? So bad that even Canada had abandoned its brand. As late as the third quarter of 2011, BlackBerry was the leading smartphone choice of about 29 percent of Canadian, with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sitting second at 21 percent. By the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple share had doubled to 44 percent, while BlackBerry tanked at 6 percent of the market. Since then? It seems that BlackBerry 10 is serving as a bit of a savior.

Image: Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)

Research firm Raymond James revealed in its analysis of the Canadian market that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) has gained some significant ground not only in the market in general, but also on the two market leaders from the last quarter, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung. BlackBerry market share – thanks to the BlackBerry 10 operating system and the Z10 handset – more than doubled from its low of 6 percent last quarter to 13.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013. Meanwhile Apple market share dropped from 44 percent down to 40, and Samsung lost share from 34 percent to 30 percent.

Raymond James seems to think this climb in market share is something with some staying power because the numbers don’t reflect the arrival of the Q10 with the QWERTY keyboard. Analyst Tavis McCourt said, “I think the Q10 will see much better demand than the Z10, as I have to believe the primary reason users are still on BlackBerry is for the physical keyboard. That being said, a lot of that demand may get stretched out over a few quarters, as it will take time for enterprises to adopt BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, which is needed to support the Q10.”

What do you think? Does Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) have the moxie to continue its climb back to the top of the smartphone market in its home country, especially against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)? Do you think this recovery can translate in other countries, like the U.S., where the company has fallen to fourth in market share? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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