BlackBerry Cool

my wife wants only a white one… enough said.

With the mention of a white blackberry pearl I have to wonder if the goal is to resemble the ipod. Take the basic shape. I see the pearl as a nano with keys. It has the same thickness, almost the same width, almost the same screen size, and now a possibility of color likeness. Then again it could be to attract the female side of business. I believe that 70% of the house hold purchases are made by the female. Perhaps the black/chrome did not reach the targeted market. If the pearl came in color assortments such as white and pink a Coach purse wouldn’t even make the wish list. I would be like many other men standing in line for a new pearl. The pink one of course.

I think a white pearl would be definitely cool.It’s a fairly unusual color for a cell phone and it will turn heads. The white pearl most certainly will appeal to women more so than men but it makes the pearl more of a fashion statement. A very practical fashion statement. How about a blackberry pearl that looks like mother of pearl?

The white pearl seems to be an obvious extension of RIM trying to capture the consumer audience. With the popularity of Apple’s iPod (being primarily offered in white) it seems that RIM is following in their footsteps and offering a device that ‘matches’ something a lot of consumers already have. I can’t seem to think that a full range of color options would be far behind as RIM continues to reach out to the average consumer. The pearl is certainly a good step in the direction of making the BlackBerry appeal to a broader audience, as it finally offers some of the more ‘fun’ features that the BB has been missing for quite some time – albeit for good reason. In my humble opinion, RIM will continue to dominate the market as long as their focus on the new ‘fun’ features doesn’t jeopardize their core devices aimed at corporations.

Honestly I think the white Pearl would be only for the ipod generation. A good move to potentially grab market share at the consumer level but at the risk of cheapening their image.

This past weekend, I headed to Washington DC for a meeting, and in the airport, you can bet I saw dozens of business road warriors left and right tapping away on their Blackberries to get more work done faster and in more places. But what I wasn’t noticing enough of was people who seemed totally average, without Bluetooth headsets and corporate logos covering their every inch, yet used blackberries. This is a major problem for RIM, and one that I believe they are trying to fix with the pearl in order to actively expand into the consumer market, while still keeping the business crowd addicted. The Blackberry Pearl overall was a big step in this direction by including a lot of features unprecedented in Blackberries, but regularly seen in other phones, giving people, including myself, the best of both worlds, and I think the white pearl takes this a step further. I think that RIM is starting to understand that business users see their phone almost solely as a tool. This is why you probably won’t see a white 87XX or a white 71XX. Meanwhile more mainstream consumer users see a phone as not only as something to make use of, but partially as some expression of themselves. Not to mention that an all-white phone makes the name “pearl” stick out in your mind a lot more than a number like 8100 attached to a black phone with a little white on it. All of the “hot” phones with a lot of hype in the consumer market have these distinctive one-word names that are for obvious reasons like the RAZR’s thinness, and the Chocolate’s dark color. RIM is catching on, and catching up, and hopefully poised to overtake those competitors to the benefit of all of its customers, from road warriors to soccer moms. I will end with a quote by Morgan Freeman in the movie “Stand by Me”. In one scene, he says to the villain, played by Lynne Thigpen, that the only two things he has to do in life are “Stay Black and Die.” But it is my belief that if the Blackberry stays black, that it will die.

p.s.- I am really glad to hear that I won last week, but is there some specific way to claim my prize?

The most prevalent ad played in my market is Verizon’s multi-colored (or should I say “flavored”?) Chocolate commercial. I’m sure everyone has seen it 20 or so times right now. And, from what I’ve seen, at least in my area, the colors (especially white and red) of the Chocolate have been successful. RIM knows that part of reaching the consumer market is connecting with that “fashion accessory” aspect of choosing a device. People don’t just choose their phone based on functionality anymore. How the phone looks or fits in with their style is just as important. Furthermore, part of that “style” thing is how people flock to what is considered “cool” (explains how a dysfunctional device like the Moto Q was so hot). What has been the “coolest” personal device for the last X number of years? The iPod. And what color has that been predominantly? White.

Personally, I don’t like white phones. So far, in my experience with phones like the Samsung D807 (Cingular) when they release the white version it tends to look cheaper than its black brother. I do think that if you can pull off the white but maintain a sense of quality (and who better to do this than RIM?) then you have a killer selling tool.

Being around the industry a lot, I have seen a ton of interest in the Pearl from the consumer section of the market. I expected that. What I didn’t expect is the huge glut of interest from business customers. I have to agree with some of the above posts when they say that Pearl doesn’t appeal to business customers. I think RIM recognizes that while the Pearl definitely bridges the gap between business and consumer, it is STILL going to appeal to the business customer. Whether business or consumer, Blackberry has become the “hip” device of the last few years and that isn’t lost on anyone, whether they use it for personal or business use.

I think it’s a smart move and a relatively safe change of pace. I just hope they don’t make a mint or cherry one

The most important thing I’m wondering when I read this report, do you think that they will sell just the white case and key pad? I mean, I just bought the #%$% thing and now there is a ‘cooler’ one coming out. How am I going to justify that one to my wife?

The most important thing I’m wondering when I read this report, do you think that they will sell just the white case and key pad? I mean, I just bought the #%$% thing and now there is a ‘cooler’ one coming out. How am I going to justify that one to my wife?