Research in Motion (RIM) Ltd’s BlackBerry increased its share of the U.S. smartphone market in the first quarter, while Apple Inc’s iPhone lost ground, according to a report from the global market research firm IDC. Apple iPhone’s market share in the smartphones category in the US is currently at around 19.2% percent, a plunge from 26.7% the quarter before.

Although iPhone’s market share was down in the first three months of the year compared to the last quarter of 2007, Apple will most likely make improvements once the second generation 3G iPhone is launched.

According to the report RIM’s share of the U.S. market share rose to 44.5 percent in the first quarter from 35.1 percent in the fourth quarter while iPhone’s share fell to 19.2 percent from 26.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

Motorola Inc, the leading phone maker in the U.S., also saw its sales dwindle to 2.6 percent of the market for smartphones from 7.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

Palm Inc saw its share increase to 13.4 percent from 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter while Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s share rose to 8.6 percent from 5.1 percent, IDC said.

Smartphones are designed for Web surfing and e-mail in addition to voice calls and usually have alphabetic keyboards or touch screens. They account for a growing share of mobile phones sold, as prices descend and carriers complete their fast data networks.

IDC did not reveal the total number of smart phones sold in the quarter, but Apple said it sold 1.7 million iPhones in the first quarter, including overseas sales.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is widely expected to announce a second-generation 3G wireless version iPhone at or around Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2008, which runs from June 9-13 in San Francisco, California.

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