Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) and Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) – er, BlackBerry Ltd. – are fighting for its very smartphone lives, as the handset market for smartphones is being dominated by the duopoly of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which take up the majority of the market. Specifically, the iOS and Android operating system by Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) make up about 90 percent of the overall OS marketplace in smartphones.
While there isn’t much room for third place in smartphones, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) is certainly looking to take advantage of its relationship with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and the Windows Phone OS to leverage a bigger share of the market place – and is apparently taking a strategic tack to directly go after Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) and its BlackBerry OS, which has been popular in the policitcal and financial classes over the years despite its overall market share plummeting.
How important is No. 3 for both smartphone companies? “The importance of winning the business audience on a scale of 1 to 10 is easily an 11,” said Ramon Llamas, an IDC research analyst. Llamas expects that Windows Phone by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will surpass Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) BlackBerry as the No. 3 operating system among smartphones, with Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) being the beneficiary of most of the improvement.
Could Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) improve its standing by making an acquisition run at Research in Motion, Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY)?