APPLE IS making progress by the day as it is reigning supreme in the smart phones arena. Blackberry, which is always a stiff competition, was pushed down to fourth position after Apple shipped 20.3 million iPhones. This news was confirmed by the quarterly results, which the company released in the third week of July. The data was further confirmed by US analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

In a statement released by the IDC, it said, “The smartphone market crowned a new leader in 2011, and its name is Apple.” IDC further said that the latest shipment of Apple raised its Global market share to 19.1 percent. The market share was 14.7 percent exactly one quarter before, and to make this kind of progress is amazing.

Blackberry also tried to retain its position with its 12.4 million shipments but it slipped to the fourth position. Samsung, due to its strong R&D and marketing, has claimed the second spot by shipping 17.3 million smart phones during the same period, and showed a 16.2 percent growth.

Talking about Apple and its growing hold over the market, Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team, said, “Ever since the first iPhone launched in 2007, Apple has made market-setting strides in hardware, software, and channel development to grab mindshare and market share. Demand has been so strong that even models that have been out for one or two years are still being sought out. With an expected refresh later this year, volumes are set to reach higher levels.”

Whether Apple would retain its numero uno position is tough to say. Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst, with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker was apprehensive and was quoted, “There is no runaway leader in the market, which means there could easily be further Top 5 vendor changes to come.”

Whoever reigns supreme, the smartphones market would grow by 55 percent from 2010. The future for smartphones looks very bright and the top companies would have to fight it out for the top most position.