RIM Chief Defensive as Nokia Tries to Write Off BlackBerry

Research In Motions co-CEO is a bit miffed at Nokia.

Thats because RIMs Europe-based rival this week dared to suggest that BlackBerry has fallen behind as a smartphone contender. Stephen Elop, head of Nokia, said at this weeks Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that Windows, Android and Apple now dominate the smartphone software ecosystem.

But RIMs Jim Balsillie takes issue with that statement. He told the BBC that BlackBerry saw 70 percent growth last year and has become the No. 1 phone in the U.K. because 80 percent of subscribers are consumers. Still, its hard to refute numbers various research firms put RIM fourth in market share, after Google, Nokia and Apple.

Are people writing us off? We have had huge growth in the last year,” Balsillie said. I wouldn’t write us off.”

He said thats especially true as RIM prepares to release its first-ever iPad competitor, the PlayBook. And Balsillie is sticking to his guns.

I don’t know how you can say that we are not in the race,” he told the BBC.

The thing with races is, someone always loses. And while its not impossible, it is harder to win when youre already behind.