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I disagree with the author: The BlackBerry market is made up of corporate users who write emails that go on for miles. What makes the device unique is they phy

I disagree with the author: The BlackBerry market is made up of corporate users who write emails that go on for miles. What makes the device unique is they physical keyboard, which makes it easy to write those monster emails. And in my experience of hanging out with Blackberry users that's really what they use the device for — the ability to make a phone call seems secondary (and the ability to look at the web isn't even there). While the other brands appeal to the consumer market, corporations still love their BlackBerry in the way they love Windows. If RIM was smart they'd get acquired by Microsoft, Oracle, Dell or IBM — someone who is a top tier player in the corporate space.

fertel 16y ago
That argument doesn't hold much water anymore. I have friends who work at some of the top investment banks - JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank are two of which I know are offering the iPhone as a choice instead of the blackberry. Also, a lawyer friend at a top tier law firm was offered the iPhone as an alternative as well - granted he didn't take it. A decision he regrets. It's only a matter of time - no one wants to carry 2 devices and their employers are keen to it.
- hello_moto 16y ago
  Meh, your argument doesn't hold much water either. My friend just dump iPhone for BB because well... his friends are using BBM. My father works in Bank and him and his friends and all of his business partners don't bother to look at iPhone/iPod/iPad.
- danzheng 16y ago
  Here is another data point, my finance, who's in sales and a Droid user for a year, recently got a Blackberry for work. She didn't like it at all. Blackberry is not going away anytime soon due long enterprise sales cycle. But like fertel said, it's only a matter of time.
  - fractallyte 16y ago
    That's an interesting typo... Do you lavish a lot of money on her? ;-)
- mortenjorck 16y ago
  I'd be very curious to see some real-world speed tests (not just one of the "I'm typing on an iPhone; now I'm typing on a Bold" videos) with a decent sample size and current hardware. I can type faster now on my iPhone than I ever imagined possible on a mobile device, thanks to three things: autocorrect, adaptive key hitboxes (look up the patent; it's pretty cool), and the lack of tactile feedback. Yes, lack of tactile feedback. Merely making contact with a surface takes slightly less time than pressing the travel distance of a key, and it adds up. In my experience, the loss in accuracy from lack of tactility is more than compensated for by the iPhone keyboard's advantages.
schmittz 16y ago
I actually just got off the phone with my dad who has had a BlackBerry for the last 10 years and just replaced his with an Android phone (Samsung something, I believe) last week. He said he finds it much easier to use and likes it more. It's well noted that brand preference is largely irrational and thus any amount of anecdotes means very little. What it does mean is that BlackBerry is likely to continue to decline in market share unless they revamp their OS to be more app friendly (and redo their app store to make it worthwhile), but they will probably never go away. My best guess would be that they act stubbornly (as large companies often do) and decline in market share for awhile before deciding to sell to a larger player.

fertel 16y ago

That argument doesn't hold much water anymore. I have friends who work at some of the top investment banks - JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank are two of which I know are offering the iPhone as a choice instead of the blackberry. Also, a lawyer friend at a top tier law firm was offered the iPhone as an alternative as well - granted he didn't take it. A decision he regrets. It's only a matter of time - no one wants to carry 2 devices and their employers are keen to it.

hello_moto 16y ago
Meh, your argument doesn't hold much water either. My friend just dump iPhone for BB because well... his friends are using BBM. My father works in Bank and him and his friends and all of his business partners don't bother to look at iPhone/iPod/iPad.
danzheng 16y ago
Here is another data point, my finance, who's in sales and a Droid user for a year, recently got a Blackberry for work. She didn't like it at all. Blackberry is not going away anytime soon due long enterprise sales cycle. But like fertel said, it's only a matter of time.
- fractallyte 16y ago
  That's an interesting typo... Do you lavish a lot of money on her? ;-)
mortenjorck 16y ago
I'd be very curious to see some real-world speed tests (not just one of the "I'm typing on an iPhone; now I'm typing on a Bold" videos) with a decent sample size and current hardware. I can type faster now on my iPhone than I ever imagined possible on a mobile device, thanks to three things: autocorrect, adaptive key hitboxes (look up the patent; it's pretty cool), and the lack of tactile feedback. Yes, lack of tactile feedback. Merely making contact with a surface takes slightly less time than pressing the travel distance of a key, and it adds up. In my experience, the loss in accuracy from lack of tactility is more than compensated for by the iPhone keyboard's advantages.

schmittz 16y ago

I actually just got off the phone with my dad who has had a BlackBerry for the last 10 years and just replaced his with an Android phone (Samsung something, I believe) last week. He said he finds it much easier to use and likes it more. It's well noted that brand preference is largely irrational and thus any amount of anecdotes means very little. What it does mean is that BlackBerry is likely to continue to decline in market share unless they revamp their OS to be more app friendly (and redo their app store to make it worthwhile), but they will probably never go away. My best guess would be that they act stubbornly (as large companies often do) and decline in market share for awhile before deciding to sell to a larger player.