Is BlackBerry on the wrong end of a competitive wave?
We've often talked about a "wave" of competitive advantage, in which insights form the basis for the launch of an offering, a company gets to exploit it for a while, and then inevitable erosion sets in. Well, imagine my surprise at seeing almost exactly that pattern in a Business Week story about Blackberry's attempts to stay relevant in a world of ever more intriguing smartphones. Have a look!
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- Posted: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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Rita,
I think Blackberry has already lost this battle, no matter what Blackberry 6 has in store. I am one of thousands (millions?) of long-time Bberry users who have moved to Android (if we hadn’t moved to iPhone already).
RIM had a chance last year when they launched the Storm, but the device and the software were too clunky. Note that this was around the time that the first Android device (T-Mobile’s G1) was released. The G1 didn’t get spectacular reviews. But now there are dozens of Android devices on the market, including great ones like the HTC Desire & Incredible and the Droid X, and the operating system has had two major releases since the G1’s time.
RIM has done little but make promises since then. The devices are still virtually unchanged, and the software is the same. Blackberry 6 may be a great system whenever it comes out, but chances are RIM will be battling Windows Mobile 7 for third place, if that.
It could have and should have been different.
regards, John
