The war is on between Apple and Research In Motion, the maker of the Blackberry, not only in the consumer market, but also in the business market, “where Apple’s making advances in fits and starts. Years ago, there were people sneaking a new gadget into the office called a PalmPilot. The same people are sneaking in their iPhones, and eventually Apple’s going to have to figure out a way to make nice with Microsoft Outlook without making the heads spin in the corporate IT department,” Arik Hesseldahl reports for BusinessWeek.
Hesseldahl reports, “Now take a look at the Blackberry 9000, a heavily rumored device that looks an awful lot like an iPhone… The battle is underway, and actually has been for some time. Apple and RIM are in for a real donnybrook in 2008,” Hesseldahl reports.
MacDailyNews Take: The Boy Genius Report has some rumored specs and a product photo of the Blackberry 9000 here, which so far looks like YAiR (Yet Another iPhone Ripoff).
Hesseldahl continues, “Apple’s advantage is media. It has iTunes and music and video behind it, which RIM doesn’t do all that well, at least not yet. RIM’s advantage is its established relationships with corporate IT departments, and with many many carriers.”
Hesseldahl writes, “I for once can’t wait to see Apple’s iPhone sales numbers for its Q1 2008, because that will set the tone for the rest of the year, and if they’re high enough, could put RIM on the defensive.”
Full article here.
Carl Howe writes for Blackfriars’ Marketing, “If Apple actually will sell 5 million units by MacWorld AND it keeps up its aggressive deployments AND it makes no serious missteps with new products (like its 3G iPhone), the iPhone could pass the Blackberry to become the best-selling smartphone on the planet in 2008, and possibly the most rapidly adopted phone in the world. Not bad for an entry product in a market that most pundits claimed was impossible for a new manufacturer to enter.”
Full article here.
While Apple and RIM could very well be ready to fight it out, just imagine if they partnered! By combining their strengths, they could run through the mobile device market like two bulls in a china shop. Either way, Nokia, Palm, Microsoft Windows Mobile-based device makers, Motorola, and others look to be in for a world of hurt in 2008.
