BlackBerry Cool

Well Motorola will be the tried to release a device like a blackberry but went with Windows Mobile bad choice. Nokia is scared of everyone, it looks like they are trying anything to get anyone back. Palms issue is it OS choices as well and it lack of stability. The pearl is the ultimate in phones. It’s shiny, it stable, and it is chalked full of features. If I hadn’t just bought my 8700c I would be all over it like chocolate

Briefly looking at the review on Cnet about the Blackberry Perl and I thought, well, for those who have been using Blackberry devices for a long time, this is a welcome change and something that many of us have been asking RIM. However, I have also been a Palm and other multimedia phone user for some time and in comparision with what’s in the market, Palm Treo aside, there are many phones like Samsung and Sony Ericsson latest that makes this current edition of Blackberry pale in comparision. There is still a lot for RIM to do before they can even compete on this same level with the other phone manufacturers. But I guess it’s a start and I hope RIM will carry on and come out with far more interesting devices in future. One basic aspect is also the lack of memory that probably restricts what the Blackberry can do.

Briefly looking at the review on Cnet about the Blackberry Perl and I thought, well, for those who have been using Blackberry devices for a long time, this is a welcome change and something that many of us have been asking RIM. However, I have also been a Palm and other multimedia phone user for some time and in comparision with what’s in the market, Palm Treo aside, there are many phones like Samsung and Sony Ericsson latest that makes this current edition of Blackberry pale in comparision. There is still a lot for RIM to do before they can even compete on this same level with the other phone manufacturers. But I guess it’s a start and I hope RIM will carry on and come out with far more interesting devices in future. One basic aspect is also the lack of memory that probably restricts what the Blackberry can do.

What will Motorola’s response be? The GSM Q that takes the world by storm come Q1 2007.

Judging the Q thus far based on its limited reach as an exclusive to Verizon Wireless for the first six months is an absurdity. It will hit Sprint by year’s end with a drop in price and likely yet another software update (btw, are those so-called instability issues post or pre-AKU 2?). I can only imagine it will see greater success considering Sprint’s cheaper consumer data pricing.

See, people developed this idea that the Q itself was a “BlackBerry killer,” a “Treo killer.” How can that be when the family (the Q is meant to be the first of a group of devices) has yet to expand into the PPC arena? The surname wasn’t christened by Motorola, it was given by these sensationalist tech websites such as Engadget, Gizmodo and, well, BlackBerry Cool. The Q was a “BlackBerry killer,” “Treo killer” only figuratively. What will kill them is handset manufacturers’ entry into RIM’s and Palm’s locked up segments. What will kill them is Motorola producing devices that drop in price substantially during the lifecycle. What will kill them is Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, SE, etc. as a group of outsiders tearing their marketshare apart.

RIM is finished. The Nokia E-Series won’t disappear, Samsung won’t abandon their i-Smartphones. The Q is only going to get better. 150,000 sold in 30 days, Verizon’s #1 WM device. Moto smells the blood, Microsoft smells the blood. Neither will let up. Hang on by that last string for as long as you can. That last string of Pearls…

Actually I think the Pearl actually bought RIM’s competitors time to catch up. RIM’s bread-and-butter is still, and will continue to be, the corporate user. They pay the BES licensing, they demand/fund third-party applications (e.g. ERP, S/MIME, etc.), and they certaintly aren’t overly interested in multimedia features. Actually a lot of RIM customers dread the idea of not having Blackberry’s ~without~ cameras. Especially those of us in any industrial or Government related work.

By getting drawn into this media-crazed blended device market RIM is going to end up competing with Sony’s, Panasonics, LGs, Nokia, etc. with device features they can’t possibly amortize like the larger wider-market competitors can. When any of the other guys develop a camera-phone they’ve already got tons of optics and imaging experience elsewhere in-house. When they develop MP3 features, same thing. RIM is just expending resources that could be better used further differentiating themselves in the corporate/collaboration/enterprise space.

Pardon my frustration but I see Pearl as a distraction and certainly not something the competitors should be worried about. -Ali

Hi!

Palm = lost track and focus

Nokia = they want to do everything. But didn’t manage to do everything in a good way. They do everything. Yes. But not good.

Motorola = They never understood to implement a intuitive MMI (Man Machine Interface) -> too complicatet

MS WinMobile = Ok, lot of 3rd Party software after the struggle of Palm. Complicatet, not intuitive.

RIM = intuitive devices with great functionality and good ideas. Easy to use and understand. Jog Dial = great. I found out why RIM is so popular these days – it’s a real “one handed” device – you can use it on the “WC”… Yes, really. Try to use a Palm, Windows Mobile, Nokia or any other device while you’re standing there to get rid of all the meeting cafe… with a Blackberry, you can…

Another Example: Auto Dim function of the display = very great feature.

Just my $0.02

Greetings
Erik

RIM has gone as far as they can with the business market. With the vast majority of the government and large business locked up, they have a small but predictable revenue stream and can depend on a slow upgrade cycle for business users. A company has to grow though, and this explains RIM’s entry into the consumer market.

Consumer level devices will be upgraded a lot more often then devices bought by businesses, and that’s good for RIM, as they draw 70% of their revenue from hardware sales.

I’m surprised Palm is still in the game. They have allowed their OS to stagnate and have been riding on the reputation of the Palm OS in it’s glory days. Treos are expensive with unimaginative designs, but have a small but dedicated force dedicated to them. No one really knows that the future holds for Palm.

Then you have Microsoft, who will succeed despite their best efforts not to. Even the latest version of Windows Mobile is horrible, unless you are a die-hard Microsoft fan. I tested the XV6700, battery life was terrible, the interface was terrible, and I can’t think of much I liked about the device or the operating system. Some people like the integration with other Microsoft products, but the devices aren’t that great.

Which leads us to the Pearl and RIM’s future direction; the Pearl is not a distraction, it is the first shot in a protracted battle for the hearts and minds of the consumer market, which will be a growth market for RIM. The Pearl has an iPod mystique around it; it’s a good looking device and that is what has brought the iPod fame and fortune. A lot of people buy devices based on looks, and the Pearl looks good. However, the Pearl has more than looks going for it. Once you get past appearances, it’s clear that the Blackberry platform in general is well designed and intuitive. It’s very stable and it works surprisingly well and it’s easy to approach. Blackberry isn’t intimidating, and I feel that it’s due in part to a lack of a stylus. People can understand a rolling wheel, and I suspect that people can understand a rolling ball even more.

The Pearl and future Blackberry devices will become the next iPod in the phone world, because it is the mass market that makes successes, not a legion of die hards who like their Palm and Microsoft devices. As someone that has used all the major platforms, Blackberry does it better than anyone else, and now, it has an attractive package that lowers the barrier to entry for the mass market (because it looks good).

What also escapes the competitions attention time and time again, is that if you build a product that actually does what you say it will, and does it well, people will be lining up at your door to buy it. The Blackberry does this best of all.

Well I don’t think the pearl will really stir a response from anyone. Nokia is already moving the E62 into cing and dont seem to be fussed majority of thier symbian devices arnt in the US market. Motorola only has one color of Q currently so thier to busy spinning the big wheel of colors to R&D a pearl killer. Palm gave up awhile ago. Samsung has so many multimedia phones it’d be hard to pick out which one is an attack on the pearl. The only companys who are going to notice the peral are Danger and HTC. I think this will get HTC’s attention and the 8800 will start them workin overtime for a direct competitor to it. Danger is going to amp up thier pr and get the sk3 in the hands of as many celebs as possible, than maybe start working on a stable device.

What about Apple? I know the Newton was a collosal failure but rumors of an ‘iPhone’ with data capabilities have been swirling and I beleive the company recently filed a new patent application that had a number of data capabilities (as well as their standard iPod functionality). RIM definitely appears to be the front runner when it comes to data but if Apple can create a decent data product, integrate it with an iPod, and leverage their brand to the fullest extent things could get interesting.

I think they are all a little nervous of each other. I think the consumer phone makers are worried. BBs have a lot of business fans, and the only hold up was the lack of a consumer model, but here it is. I would be worried if I was trying to beat RIM out.

I think you’re all idiots. Get a life. Please.

I just ordered one myself. I am a business user. I currently have the BB7290. I will still keep the 7290 in case I have to go to a client and I can not have a camera phone with me. Then I will switch the sim card and use the 7290. I hate the size and bulk of the BB. My company lives on BB’s. The majority of the company has them (a 2 thousand+ company). They all want a smaller phone but do not want to give up their BB.