BlackBerry smartphones continue to be the choice of corporate users, according to a report by ChangeWave. The corporate IT spending survey indicated nearly three-in-four respondents (73%) cited Research In Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of the popular BlackBerry devices, as their company's smartphone.

While the RIM percentage is unchanged from the previous corporate smartphone survey in November 2007, its market dominance over arch rival Palm has continued to expand. The Treo maker came in at 18% - a 1-pt decline that represents just the latest hit in a gruesome year-long slide.

Apple still has a relatively small share of the corporate smartphone market (5%), however the iPhone continues to grab sky-high satisfaction ratings. Nearly three-in-five (59%) of Apple's business customers say their company is "Very Satisfied" with the Apple iPhone.

The Blackberry ranks second with a Very Satisfied rating of 47%, though the survey notes this represents an unusually large 8-pt decline from the previous measure. Palm receives its lowest corporate satisfaction rating in a ChangeWave survey yet, with only 10% of corporate users saying their company is Very Satisfied with the Palm Treo.

"What we have here is a huge and still growing market share lead for Research in Motion that, for the moment, appears near invincible," said Tobin Smith, founder of ChangeWave Research and editor of ChangeWave Investing. "However, at the same time, we've picked up an unusual 8-point decline in the percentage of corporate customers who say they are Very Satisfied with their RIM Blackberry smartphones, which may mean there's a problem brewing for the Canadian manufacturer."

Looking ahead to the 2nd Quarter, RIM (77%) is the dominant leader in planned corporate buying of smartphones - having jumped 3-pts since the previous survey in November. Apple (11%) is second, down 3-pts from its previous high. Palm (8%), Motorola (7%) and Samsung (4%) have each experienced a 2-pt decline in terms of planned corporate buying, with each company registering its lowest level of the past year.

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