CNET Asia’s interview with RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis contains a boatload of interesting information about where the head honcho of BlackBerry development feels the industry in moving and where it has been. However, before we get to that, we have to address something that Lazaridis said that is… somewhat weird. Here’s Mr. Lazaridis’ answer to the question of whether he perceives any threats to BlackBerrys from netbooks.
I think I can put Netbooks in here [referring to the BlackBerry Storm]. These are Netbooks. They are just smaller.
Hmmm. Wikipedia (not exactly the last word on anything, but a good place to start) defines the netbook as a light-weight, low-cost, energy-efficient, highly portable laptop suitable for web browsing, email and general purpose applications, usually at a cost of less than $400. While you can certainly purchase a BlackBerry Storm for less than $400, it will come with a carrier contract, something no other netbook features to my knowledge, and that is before taking into account the monthly BlackBerry data and telephony costs. And while the BlackBerry Storm is obviously highly portable, it doesn’t compare well to the ease-of-use offered by a netbook (or any laptop for that matter) for a broad range of functions.
However, I think that the ultimate proof that Mr. Lazaridis is off base with the netbook comparison, is the numerous amount of people I’ve seen carrying both a BlackBerry and a netbook. If you have one already, why carry a second?
UPDATE: Power User Nan Palmero just pointed me to a contract subsidized netbook, but for now this is a niche within a niche (micro-niche?).
|via CNET|
