With Interbrand and
BusinessWeek releasing their annual ranking of top 100 brands this week, the number of mobile technology companies making the list can again be counted on one hand.
That select club is
comprised of Nokia, Apple, BlackBerry and Samsung. (Intel, ranked No. 9, makes chips for mobile devices but most consumers don't associate the tech giant with mobile.) And of those four, only Nokia
and BlackBerry are mobile-only companies.
Even though Nokia continues to lose ground in the smartphone race, the Finnish phone maker held onto its No. 5 ranking as the company's "reputation
for robust construction, ease of use, and low-key style has helped it dominate mass-market handsets." In other words, size matters.
Apple's No. 20 ranking, meanwhile, was powered,
unsurprisingly, by the iPhone "and an app store that rivals are rushing to copy." Samsung remained one spot ahead of Apple, emerging as the only credible challenger to Nokia in mobile phones
worldwide. But the Korean handset maker has only just opened its own app storefront.
BlackBerry (No. 63) is one of the few brands on the top 100 far better known than the company behind
it-Research in Motion. A case could be made for breaking out the iPhone as a standalone brand as well because of its prominence and importance to Apple's sales. But that won't change the fact that a
BlackBerry is the only device found on President Obama's belt.
What about the major wireless carriers? There's always next year.
For a look at how the top 100 brands rated in terms
of their mobile presence, check out this . Who knew No. 1 brand Coca-Cola didn't have a mobile site? Maybe
the company can get Coke enthusiasts to build one, like they did their Facebook page.