The rumor mill is a-turning now that the release of the 3G iPhone is upon us … everyone is speculating what BlackBerry will create in order to compete with the everything-you-could-ever-want-and-more iPhone. But BlackBerry might just have something up their sleeve with the talk of the BlackBerry AK (supposedly named AK for Apple Killer).
The Apple Killer
RIM offers great BlackBerry devices for their targeted market: business and executive level personnel. According to an article by Phone Magazine, RIM holds 40 percent of the market share for smart phones in the U.S. while the iPhone has 17 percent market share. But we all have seen what Apple can do …
The idea for a touch screen BlackBerry is that it will have the touch screen for ease of selection but will also offer a QWERTY slide out keyboard. The big catch is that RIM needs to develop an interface that will essentially transfer the “non-touch phone” into a touch interface … somewhat daunting, yes, but doable. It has also been speculated that RIM will try to add more media-friendly features in order to engage in a friendly competition with Apple.
Advice to RIM
This might seem like a small bit of advice (mainly because I’m one blogger shouting out to the corporate world), but I think that BlackBerry needs to continue to do what it has been doing. Having options for smart phones is perfect because people like choices. The media options for the iPhone are unprecedented because it is an iPod turned phone. BlackBerry needs to understand that its well-developed and valued customer base has stuck with their BlackBerry devices because they like them and they work for them. So my advice to RIM … do what you do best and don’t try to “beat” the iPhone … just keep reinventing the BlackBerry that many have grown to know and love.
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Tags: Apple, Apple Killer, Blackberry, BlackBerry AK, iPhone, Touchscreen, Touchscreen BlackBerry
April 28th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
[…] Gammoth Blog wrote an interesting post today on A Touch Screen BlackBerry? I like …Here’s a quick excerptRIM is in the works of creating a touch screen BlackBerry device in order to compete with the Apple iPhone . . …. […]
April 30th, 2008 at 11:38 am
A Touch Screen BlackBerry? I like …
The primary design objective for the iPhone (in my opinion) was to make the optimal video iPod. When you have 70% marked share you need to grow into new markets. Several new phones from other manufacturers seem to have the similar …
April 30th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I agree with you that the objective for Apple was to create the ultimate video iPod … and did they ever! But I think that RIM BlackBerry needs to stick with what they are good at. They have a niche and already hold a great market share, granted they need to always continue to improve and expand, but I don’t think they should follow in Apple’s footsteps (kind of big shoes to fill!) RIM is good at what it does, so I think it should continue to build on its own foundation …