Cody Willard blogs for Marketwatch, “For years I liked RIMM and I traded it, usually to the long side, when I was running money a few years ago. But I’m not sure I’d ever get long RIMM again, and I’ll give you three quick reasons why:”
1. The apps. It’s not about the number of apps. It’s about how easy it is to use the apps and how many apps actually bring value.
2. The enterprise. That’s really where Blackberry built its dominance — by taking over corporate mobile email. And they owned it with 90% marketshare initially. But all that marketshare that Blackberry was had is eroding and the rest is there for the taking. I’m seeing an increasing number of executives bring out their iPhones during meetings and to tap out emails. When the execs get their tech guys who are still running on the “you can’t get fired for using Blackberry” mentality to finally commit to letting the company employees choose between the iPhone and Blackberry, it’s gonna be a long down hill for Blackberry’s hold on the enterprise.
3. What’s Blackberry’s future market? If they can’t compete with the best consumer phones when it comes to playability, form factor, and general app usefulness, and if they can’t maintain their outsized marketshare at the enterprise, Blackberry’s suddenly got an identity crisis on its hands.
Willard blogs, “I think RIMM eventually gets bought out by somebody like Microsoft or even Google someday, but that day is several years off and I think there’s little potential upside and lots of potential downside because of these apps/marketshare/enterprise concerns.”
Full article here.
Well said Geo……RIM got a little too arrogant a little too fast. They grew quickly and had a pretty big hold on the corporate world. But game changers like Apple and iPhone don’t discriminate……its gaining ground and will continue to as long as Apple stays in the smartphone game.
Resistance if futile people……hold on to the Blackberries if you want to and ignore a far better mobile device like the iPhone. Corporate Blackberry support will continue to diminish and one day you may have to switch to the iPhone anyways….at least for work. Unlike the other sheep in the mobile phone industry, Apple continues to innovate and will only make the iPhone better…….all the while many steps ahead of the competition.
Doesn’t “going downhill” signify smooth sailing, like an easy ride? It would be more accurate for the headline to say, “The road ahead is all UPHILL for Research in Motion” or “It’s an UPHILL battle for Research in Motion.”
I’ve been reading all this bull and have one thing to say, I have a bold 9000 used it for 1 year so far I droped it 16 feet and well it’s gone so I had no choice but to borrow my wife’s 3GS untill I go get a new BB so althought it’s a great phone and I have enjoyed using it for 6 days so far I can’t wait to get my new bold cause BB rules all.