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January 31, 2007

BlackBerry Pearl Proves Consumers Want Smartphones

Amidst all the Apple iPhone hoopla, I've been remiss to mention that Tmobile has made its most popular phone, the BlackBerry Pearl, available in a second color -- white. That most users of the popular handset use it for personal email rather than corporate email, probably had a lot to do with color addition. While the Pearl is one of the sleekest smartphones on the market, with all of the features of other BlackBerrry handsets, the choice of using one is as much a part of style and fashion for individuals as it is about function.

T-Mobile has this to report about it's BlackBerry Pearl users:

Nearly 3 out of 4 T-Mobile customers who upgraded to a BlackBerry Pearl traded up from a regular phone, rather than another converged device.
The majority of T-Mobile customers using the BlackBerry Pearl are using it for personal e-mail rather than staying connected to corporate servers.
Approximately 80% of all T-Mobile Blackberry Pearl customers to date have signed up for BlackBerry Internet Service only, to take advantage of personal e-mail accounts like gmail, Yahoo! mail, etc. (rather than Blackberry Enterprise Service for corporate e-mail).
96% of T-Mobile Pearl customers send personal e-mail from their device weekly.

According to BetaNews, "The company added 875,000 new accounts in the quarter ending December 2, 2006, about 50,000 more than financial analysts had been expected. Cited as a driver for the strong growth was the success of the Pearl itself."

The phone's features include, push e-mail, Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, music and video playback, and expandable media via microSD. The BlackBerry Pearl White is priced at $149 with a two-year contract, and Internet and e-mail plans start at $19.99 per month for unlimited e-mail and Web browsing.

With this smartphone's success in the consumer market, it would seem that Apple has an opportunity to build up a user base pretty quickly. But you have to wonder if the San Francisco-based company will be able to penetrate the mobile retail market with a device that has a hefty price tag (Senior Analyst Gene Munster of PiperJaffray forecasts that the price will be closer to the $399 mark) and will only be available from one carrier.

Posted by Lynne d Johnson at January 31, 2007 8:33 PM | Category: technology + computers | 4 Comments

4 COMMENTS

Posted by: J.R. at February 1, 2007 9:59 AM

96% of T-Mobile Pearl customers send personal e-mail from their device weekly.

Wow, that's really impressive. Not!

That cost per e-mail is outrageous.

If Apple goes with one carrier for their new appliance, they obviously forgot about that whole MS-DOS license rights thing that toppled their firm to MS. Although not as risky at this juncture in Apple's evolution, they certainly might suffer a repeat of history.

Posted by: Lynne d Johnson at February 1, 2007 11:28 AM

J.R.

Thank you for your comment.

The cost per e-mail for whom? For the consumer or T-Mobile? The consumer is paying $19.99/month for unlimited email and Web.

And I totally agree with you about Apple. Going with one carrier may not hurt them. I'm not quite sure of whether the exclusivity is temporary or permanent. But given that it appears that Apple has learned from history, I'm betting that the exclusivity with Cingular may not be forever.

My point is that perhaps they should follow the Research in Motion/BlackBerry model and make different types of iPhones available to different carriers.

Posted by: ionamin at May 31, 2007 4:54 PM