RIM is losing market share fast. But it still has pretty significant differentiation (and therefore appeal) for many consumers. Blackberry is synonymous with functionality and convenience. It doesn’t have the suave or flexibility of an iPhone or Android smartphone, but for hard-nosed, no-frills communications users, it’s exactly what we want and no more than we need.
There is no way RIM can compete with Apple or Google on the cool spectrum, and it really shouldn’t even be trying, at least in the hedge and shuffle way they are doing it. In the eyes of the consumer, it’s either a Blackberry or it’s not — no matter how far it slides, how flashy the touchscreen, or how cute (slash awful) the commercials are.
But while RIM clearly views this reality as a threat, it’s more of an opportunity. True, people won’t buy a Blackberry because it’s a Blackberry, but people will also BUY a Blackberry because it’s a Blackberry. It might be less people than RIM is used to or wants, but they lost the right to be upset about that when they failed to stay ahead of the market. However, knowing why people buy is half the battle. Instead of trying to sell people what they want to buy from other brands, RIM should be focusing on what they want to buy from RIM.
And, MUCH more importantly, the western markets that RIM is clearly focused on are really small beans compared to the developing markets that are about to become viable customers for smartphones. The rise of purchasing power in these countries combined with the relentless decline in technology pricing has brought us to the verge of an explosion of consumer demand for functional, non data-intensive, communications-based smartphones. Now, what phone comes to mind when you hear those preferences? ;)
