Apple Invades RIM’s Home Turf in More Ways Than One

There are two things Research In Motion (NAS: RIMM) is synonymous with: the corporate enterprise and Canada. Unfortunately for the BlackBerry maker, a recent Bloomberg report shows that Apple (NAS: AAPL) is hitting it with a one-two punch on both fronts.

According to Bloomberg and market researcher IDC, Apple sold more iPhones in Canada than RIM did BlackBerrys for the first time ever. Throughout 2011, Apple shipped 2.85 million iPhones, toppling the 2.08 million BlackBerrys that RIM shipped. In contrast, RIM beat Apple in 2010 by about half a million units.

When it comes to the numbers, Canada is much less important to RIM than the United States. Last quarter, Canada chalked up just 7% of sales, while the U.S. contributed 20%. The geography still shrank, but not nearly as quickly as its prospects in the States. Canadian revenue fell by 24% to $385 million, while U.S. revenue tumbled by 46% to $1.03 billion. Even the U.K. segment fared better, shrinking by “only” 14% to $588 million.

Those losses more than offset its growth in other areas like emerging markets, which advanced 31% to $3.2 billion — or 62% of total revenue.

RIM still has many loyal enterprise customers in Canada, including many financial institutions and the government, but change is on the horizon. For example, Toronto Dominion Bank issues BlackBerrys but is “assessing [its] policy,” while it lets employees use personal Apple and Google (NAS: GOOG) Android devices for corporate email.

Apple has been scoring enterprise wins recently, with Halliburton transitioning to iPhones. A few U.S. government agencies are also making the switch, including the General Services Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sorry, RIM, but it looks as if the few fortresses you have left are quickly falling. Not even Samsung can save you now.

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