Apple has a hit with the iPhone (both the Edge and 3G version) and since the touch screen, music playing, game capable device came onto the market competitors are trying to match Apple’s efforts.
Enter RIM’s Blackberry Storm.
Everyone knows Blackberry to be the De facto accessory for business and IT workers worldwide, even after the release of the iPhone. People are constantly check emails in meeting, working from remote locations, and, yes, playing brick breaker. While the iPhone is the largest selling smart phone on the market, Blackberry trying to fight back with the Storm.
The new Blackberry device has a few advantages the iPhone does not have, including:
- Removable battery
- Expandable memory
- Tactile feedback
- Copy and paste
- Verizon 3G (AT&T’s network is a liability for the iPhone)
Who knows, the Blackberry Storm may be a superior device but it is unlikely to take over the iPhone in terms of popularity. Why? Easy – the cult of Apple.
Apple is popular for making sexy devices, be it iPhones, iPods or computers, and they know how to market their products to the consumer. As a result, a growing (and vocal) group of dedicated users buy and promote Apple’s products. It’s almost like a self-fulfilling circle of home grown marketing.
While sales of the Storm may be significant in the business world, RIM is not known as a retail consumer company and they do not have a fanatic retail consumer user base to support them. Add on other limitations, such as a lack of integration with an established music retailer and no independent application developers for their platform, the Blackberry Storm will have a number of disadvantages right at the start.
I’m sure RIM understand the challenges they face, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Storm open up from an app dev standpoint, but I just do not see the company becoming a retail consumer company with this strategy.
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