Blackberry loses its mojo
Remember when we were the BlackBerry Nation? When we couldn’t bear to be apart from our Crackberries? A few months ago?
In one short summer, the fickle nation has wheeled on its heels and cold-heartedly dumped the ‘Berry, and now bats its eyelashes at the new boys in town.
A year ago, nearly 40 percent of all smartphone users owned devices from BlackBerry maker RIM, according to the market research firm comScore. This summer, RIM’s share of the market fell to less than 20 percent, while Google’s rose from 17 to more than 40 percent, propelled by its Android. Apple’s iPhone maintained in second place with less than 30 percent.
Android and iPhones traditionally feature bigger screens (yes, size does matter), a greater selection of applications and a user-friendlier interface. Worse, the BlackBerry lost its mojo, says James Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University. “People want to avoid seeming too conventional or pedestrian.”
Although the BlackBerry first appealed to the corporate world for its security features and to teens for messaging, these draws weren’t enough to stop loyal customers from leaving en masse.
“I was not willing to hold onto a BlackBerry just for BBM anymore,” said University of Maryland senior Morgan Gibson. Her friends used to say, “We’ll talk later — BBM me.” Now “they almost always say text me.”
The Blackberry earned its cachet in corporate and government environments. When RIM introduced it in 1999, it was unique for allowing employees to access their work email securely on their cellphones. When the phone become more affordable, Katz said, demand from younger people grew.
Gibson said her sisters in Delta Delta Delta loved being part of an email list. “Someone would write, ‘Hey, there’s cookies downstairs, come get them!’” she said. “If you didn’t have a smartphone, you didn’t get any.”
But for some, the phone’s most popular feature grew to be irritating: You can tell when a message is opened. “If you’re BBMing with a guy, you can tell when he’s read it,” said Gibson, leading to: “Why hasn’t he responded yet?”
The BlackBerry’s focus on security may also be contributing to the shift. “The strength of the BlackBerry is also its Achilles’ heel,” Katz said. “The BlackBerry was unable to move from the corporate government image into the app-world image.”
RIM acknowledges that the device had difficulty overcoming perceptions that it was largely a work phone for emailing — a perception the company says it did not suffer from overseas, where it entered later with both consumer and corporate services.
Patrick Spence, RIM’s vice president and managing director of global sales, said that because companies could turn off settings that limited employees’ ability to browse the Web, check personal emails and interact with apps, users didn’t always realize the BlackBerry’s full potential.
To reclaim the market, RIM released a new operating system in August and plans to release a “super phone” next year on QNX, software that would improve Web browsing and enhance graphics.
“I don’t think anyone is ever gone for good,” Spence said.