Research In Motion Blows Away the Competition - Even As Overall IT Spending Remains Soft

Defying an otherwise weak IT spending environment, Research In Motion (RIMM) is continuing to blow away the competition -- expanding on its already vast share of the corporate smart phone market.

Corporate IT spending is far less robust elsewhere, however. After a long and unsettling decline there are signs the spending slowdown may be stabilizing.
First, the good news from ChangeWave's May survey of 2,049 respondents involved with IT spending in their organization -- it's all about smart phones.

In extraordinarily upbeat results for Research in Motion (76%; up 3-pts), the Canadian BlackBerry maker is expanding its already vast lead in the corporate smart phone market -- even as number two Palm (PALM; 17% - down 1-pt) continues its long term decline.

Moreover, when we look at future planned purchases for the 3rd Quarter, we see just how RIM absolutely dominates the overall corporate market. An astonishing 82% of respondents whose company plans to buy smart phones in the 3rd Quarter will buy BlackBerries -- a 5-pt jump since February.

The Apple iPhone (AAPL; 13%) now ranks second in terms of planned corporate purchases, up 2-pts from previously -- while Palm continues to languish with a miniscule 8% of future purchases.

Meanwhile, despite RIM's upbeat results in the smart phone market, overall corporate IT spending remains anemic and there are very few signs of an uptick going forward -- pointing to continued economic weakness for the 2nd half of the year.

Find out how IT spending is stacking up for the second half of the year when you continue reading.

by The Freshman |  06/06/08  |  Stocks: AAPL, PALM, RIMM,