RIM's Latest BlackBerry Smartphones Will Fail: 10 Reasons Why - Tired Designs Are Turning Off Consumers (
Page 2 of 2 )
5. Consumers are driving sales
The biggest issue for RIM is
that its latest and greatest smartphones appeal more to enterprise users. But
as recent changes in the mobile space have shown, it’s the consumer that is
driving sales today. Apple’s iPhone is easily besting all other handsets—which
forces competing vendors to try to come up with something to match it. In the
IT world today, consumerization continues to take hold. Nowadays, consumers are
determining which devices succeed, and that’s not a good thing for RIM.
6. The timing is off
One of the biggest problems
with RIM’s latest slate of smartphones is that they’re launching at the wrong
time of the year. Later this month, the devices will start launching, which
means they’ll likely come out just a few weeks to a little over a month before
Apple’s iPhone 5. That device is expected to launch anywhere between
mid-September to late October. Once it does, it will have a dramatically
negative effect on RIM’s BlackBerry sales. RIM’s latest handsets would have
performed
much better if they had been released last month.
7. Consumers don’t like their predecessors
History tends to be
consumers’ guide when they buy a new smartphone. When it comes to consumers,
there isn’t much to like about RIM’s recent market history. As mentioned, the
company’s products have proven rather “old school,” and this latest lineup is
no different. RIM had an opportunity to show consumers a new side of its
operation with these devices, but instead, it showed them the same old thing.
8. The corporate world is changing
As mentioned above, consumerization
of IT is changing which smartphones are being used in the corporate world. But
it’s worth noting that IT preferences have changed, as well. Gone are the days
when IT decision makers would only authorize purchases of BlackBerry devices
for corporate use. Nowadays, they’re open to using the iPhone and would even
try out Android-based offerings, like the Motorola Droid Pro. That’s bad news
for RIM, and it could have a profound impact on sales of its latest
smartphones.
9. RIM is forcing the customer’s hand
When it comes to marketing
products, companies typically employ a “push” or a “pull” strategy. In the
mobile market, Apple uses the “push” option by delivering iPhones with new
features that reflect innovative thinking. These new features compel customers
to look at them and more often than not, to decide to buy. Every other handset
maker is using a “pull” strategy by giving customers what they want and luring
them in. RIM, however, is trying to play Apple’s “push” game, but by thrusting
tired designs that reflect old thinking onto users. That doesn’t work, and it
will come back to haunt RIM.
10. Developers don’t really care
In the mobile space,
developers are becoming increasingly important to the vitality of an operating
system. Unfortunately for RIM, however, many of those developers have ignored
its operating system and gone to iOS and Android. RIM’s latest five smartphones
could have changed the company’s luck with smartphone buyers had they been
innovative. But they’re not. In fact, they’re just more of the same. And for
developers, more of the same means RIM still isn’t ready for their attention.
Follow Don Reisinger on Twitter by
clicking here
Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
