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Apple and Google's Android have a lock on the mobile phone market, right?

Conventional wisdom holds that nearly every smart phone sold will either be an iPhone or an Android. And anything beyond that is toast.

But this is tech and fortunes can change quickly. Today's crowned champions have a solid position, but Wall Street isn't unanimous in its support of the two-party phone game.

In the past month shares of broken tech shop Research In Motion have surged more than 20 per cent and phone rival Nokia is up 16 per cent as Wall Street puts its bets on the smart phone underdogs.

Call it a hedge bet. A gamble that there may be room for a third player in the Google/Apple arena.

For the past three years, both RIM and Nokia have been on the losing end of Apple and Google's smart phone assault. And both RIM and Nokia have had to redirect their strategies and retool products to get back in the game.

"It's tempting to think the new models could outperform expectations," says Tero Kuittinen, an independent industry analyst, referring to the new BlackBerry line up.

RIM managed to get its touch screen Bold launched last month just under the wire for its August deadline. Fans would score that as a much-need win after a gloomy losing streak.

Similarly, Nokia's bold attempt at revitalization hinges on the success of its upcoming Microsoft Windows 7 phones.

Kuittinen is less optimistic about an early sign of success from Nokia.

"Nokia's new Windows models are likely to arrive so late they will miss the Christmas season; so that rebound bet is probably even riskier than RIM's," says Kuittinen.

RIM shares, while down nearly 50 per cent this year, have been up 25 per cent in the past month. RIM was down 2 per cent to $29.39 Tuesday. Nokia is down 41 per cent this year, but in the past month the stock has bounced off its low and risen 16 per cent.

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