Nokia dominates world cell phone market share; Apple and RIM competition heightened

ABI Research has released worldwide cell phone market share statistics for 2008 that indicate Nokia's continued domination over the market and heightened competition between smartphone manufacturers Apple and Research In Motion.

Nokia leads the market with 38.6 percent, beating its second place competitor Samsung, with 16.2 percent, more than two to one. Motorola is tied with LG Electronics in third, each owning 8.3 percent of the market. Fourth is Sony Ericsson with 8 percent.

In a lower tier of manufacturers, Research In Motion and Apple are closer than ever in competition. RIM owns 1.9 percent of the market, nearly doubling its share since last year, and Apple pushed past its 1 percent market share. Apple's current share represents a 267 percent gain since the end of 2007 when Apple controlled 0.3 percent of the market. Apple released the iPhone in mid-2007 in a limited number of markets.