Comparing Apple and RIM smartphone numbers for the past year

There's been a lot of back and forth lately about Apple and RIM and their smartphone sales -- of course, with the iPhone, Apple has laid claim on the "new and shiny" market. But RIM continues to be huge, with lots of users still stuck on the BlackBerry and its various services. Jim Dalrymple at the Loop decided to break down the numbers and see who's really selling more devices.

So what's the truth? All told, it's Apple. RIM has shipped 52.4 million devices in the last year, which is nothing to sniff at, and definitely in opposition to anyone claiming the company is washed up. But Apple edges RIM out, shipping 57.39 million iPhones. For all four quarters of the past year, save for the period between last May and June, Apple has shipped more smartphones than RIM.

Keep in mind, however, that these numbers, at least on RIM's side, are for shipped devices, not devices sold. Apple has announced that it sold 18.5 million iPhones in just the first quarter of this year, and it's likely that RIM lags behind that number a bit. Apple's pulling ahead, but there's still some competition in the smartphone market among these two.