From a consumers perspective, there are a few key elements must have before a purchase is made. First and foremost, there has to be a solid amount of third party developers creating content and apps for the device. Next, the design of the device has to be appealing and the quality of the hardware must be desirable and work without issue. And, while not quite as important, most users like to have options when it comes to accessories. Of course, Apple is king in this category. Since the iPhone is in so many hands, their are companies dedicated to making products just to enhance the iPhone user’s experience.
Unfortunately for RIM, the BlackBerry OS is severely lacking when it comes to third party support in terms of app development. Its a catch 22. Consumers aren’t going to buy a phone that doesn’t have a lot of support and developers aren’t going to support an OS without a lot of a users. RIM didn’t push for support early enough in the game and are suffering because it.
While the company is still drawing in a large amount of revenue, it will be hard for RIM to win back the hearts of large markets like the U.S. Neil Hughes of AppleInsider reported that “Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company said BlackBerry Shipments in the September quarter were ‘surprisingly strong,’ especially given the negative attention surrounding RIM. He attributed the growth of BlackBerry in international markets to its instant messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, even as RIM has seen an ‘implosion’ of handset sales in the U.S.”
RIM knows it’s going to be difficult to remain as a key player in the smartphone market unless drastic changes are made, but with recent news regarding their upcoming OS, things aren’t looking too great. The new BlackBerry 10 mobile OS has been delayed once again and likely won’t see the light of day until the second half of 2012. Apparently the chipset that BlackBerry wants to use in the new devices that will be released with BlackBerry 10 isn’t going to arrive until mid 2012.
There is an image of a phone rumored to be one of these new BlackBerry devices. Whether or not this truly is what the next BlackBerry will look like, it is likely that RIM will be creating something similar to the iPhone in that it will only implement a touch screen, lacking a physical keyboard.
The true fate of RIM will be determined after their next big push. While it might not come as early as expected, plan on seeing RIM put as much energy as possible into this next generation of BlackBerry smartphones. They were once the dominating force in the smartphone market. They can’t be ruled out just yet.