HTC, RIM lose ground

While down slightly from a September survey, iPhone demand remained unusually high in December, according to new ChangeWave Research poll data. Of people planning to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days, 54 percent in the most recent survey said they were aiming to get an iPhone. While the number is down from 65 percent in September, ChangeWave remarks that Apple has never held such solid control more than two months after a major product release; the iPhone 4S shipped in mid-October.

Also doing unusually well in the December results -- based on a survey of 4,000 people in North America -- was Samsung, which rose from 5 percent in September to 13 percent in December. ChangeWave comments that the launch of the Galaxy Nexus appears to be a major factor, along with Samsung plans to update some other phones to Android 4.0. Motorola has meanwhile seen a slight uptick from 5 to 7 percent, the first time the company has seen an increase in demand since it hit a high of 14 percent in September 2010.

Two losers in the December 2011 data include HTC and Research in Motion. HTC fell from 6 to 3 percent, while RIM slipped from 3 percent to 2. RIM has been on a decline in nine out of the last 12 ChangeWave surveys.

Apple's success is attributed to an extremely high level of "very satisfied" iPhone customers, now sitting at 75 percent. HTC and Samsung are tied at 47 percent, while Motorola is in third at 45 percent. At the bottom of the list is RIM, with just 22 percent.

By Electronista Staff