“Research in Motion takes the stage this week to preach to a gathering of its faithful in Florida during the Canadian company’s annual Wireless Enterprise Symposium. But just as the BlackBerry maker seems to be reaching the height of success, its flock may well start to stray,” Scott Moritz reports for Fortune.
“Not only will followers be tempted by new devices like Apple’s forthcoming business-friendly iPhone, other sect members will face excommunication as cost-cutting initiatives sweep through the office ranks,” Moritz reports. RIM has just unveiled the company’s “first 3G phone, the BlackBerry Bold,” Moritz reports.
“Due to delays first reported by Fortune, the dazzling BlackBerry Bold will not be available in the United States until as late as August. This means Apple will beat RIM to the market in June with its 3G iPhone,” Moritz reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Dazzling? No.
Moritz continues, “And according to Cisco, the iPhone business plan seems to be marching along. On an earnings call with analysts last week, Cisco chief John Chambers said the new iPhone has some of Cisco’s office network security system loaded on. ‘The upcoming software version 2 for the iPhone incorporates Cisco’s VPN technology,’ Chambers said. Having the networking giant involved with Apple’s business play certainly can’t be comforting to RIM.”
“A good part of RIM’s success is reflected in the stock’s rise, which has so far defied the slowing economy and sluggish corporate information technology spending. But the new product delay coupled with arrival of Apple and Nokia’s BlackBerry killers, may challenge RIM’s perennial winner status,” Mortiz reports.
Full article here.
John Paczkowski reports for AllThingsD,”The BlackBerry Bold won’t ship until as late as August, which means Apple (AAPL) could beat it to market with the enterprise-friendly 3G iPhone it’s rumored to be uncrating at its Worldwide Developer’s Conference in June. Which has got to worry RIM. After all, the first-generation iPhone had claimed a 28% market share by the fourth quarter of 2007. That’s still less than the BlackBerry, which holds about a 41% market share, but the iPhone hasn’t even been on the market a year.”
Full article, “Think of It as an iPhone With a Broken Touchscreen,” here.
Ville Heiskanen reports for Bloomberg, “The Bold has 1 gigabyte of memory, more than any previous BlackBerry. Users can expand it to 8 gigabytes with a memory card. Cupertino, California-based Apple [already] sells the [current] iPhone in 8-gigabyte and 16-gigabyte versions.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike in Helsinki” for the heads up.]