In the Black
| posted by Kevin OhannessianBlackBerry users can breathe a sigh of relief. Your hand-held email device won't fail--BlackBerry maker RIM
RIM's problems may be far from over, though. The company also warned Friday that it had signed on fewer new customers than they previously forecasted for the quarter ending March 4. And as cellphones with email and IM become commonplace, RIM may find itself left behind. Competition from the likes of Palm's Treo and Motorola's Q phone is likely to be fierce, and with additional competitors like Good Technology gaining ground, RIM still needs to differentiate itself from the pack. Adding to the heat, Microsoft is rumored to be introducing an ultra-portable tablet PC next week and Apple will supposedly follow suit next month.
Do you think the BlackBerry will endure? What can RIM do to position itself for future growth?
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Recent Comments | 5 Total
March 5, 2006 at 2:01pm
Nick RoyNever even heard of a blackberry before until all this hoopla over it. What is a blackberry?
March 6, 2006 at 5:22am
BlazeA Blackberry is basically a larger phone with a keyboard designed to send and recieve emails on the go.
March 6, 2006 at 9:50am
LPIt's also the ultimate executive toy - designed to make you look important to clients, as you can obviously never be out of touch with the office.
However, the sheer info-addiction the gizmo produces has earned it the nickname CrackBerry, and it means you never get a private moment.
One other thing FAO my own manager if he's reading. Fiddling with your Berry under the table looks really, really BAD to clients for many different reasons... *cough*
March 6, 2006 at 11:38pm
Mark Alan EffingerCrackberry, yes. It may take a few weeks to get used to being ALWAYS (and I do mean ALWAYS) ON, but once you get it, it gets you.
I had the opportunity to get the bug in 2001, when eAgency was just coming together as a startup. Bob Lotter shouted the battle cry for us to mobilize every life insurance agent in the US, and RIM's Blackberry was the only almost real-time solution.
Since that time I've used it at ExitPath.com to manage a dozen consultants supporting 3 dozen startups.
And today, David McInnis of PRWeb.com can get up to the minute reports that help him direct his hyper-growth Web 2.0 firm. From real-time financials to number of submissions, having it on your hip can help stave-off challenges before they become real problems.
If RIM can continue to expand their data network (T-Mobile's CDMA gives good data everywhere... Cingular, not so much), they'll continue to be a key near real-time information and email service.
Broader applications (an RSS Reader would be ideal) to support more modern internet needs, and non-microsoft support in browsers and sync, and Blackberry will continue to be the wireless email of choice - whether you're in the enterprise or not. A great device that is indespensible to me in running life and business (and I don't have to fear returning to the office to have to parse through 200 emails a day when I'm on the road, or with my family.
Best of success to Blackberry!
Mark Alan Effinger
March 7, 2006 at 1:49am
Darcy McGeeMmm...Blackberrys. I like them best with whipped cream...not that overly sweet stuff though. All natural.
Turn. Off. Your. Blackberry.
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