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IT'S ridiculous how quickly business moves in 2011. This is most prevalent is the technology industry, where empires rise and fall over night.
I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, where almost 2 000 new tablet computer products were announced. The year before, Apple hadn't revealed the iPad yet. In nine months a market was created and flooded with new products. Now the rapid pace of change is sweeping through Research In Motion (RIM) - creator of BlackBerry products.
BlackBerry practically invented the smartphone and enjoyed the lion's share of the market for these lucrative devices until last year. Apple and Google entered the market and in seemingly no time eroded RIM's market share. Now BlackBerry occupies 18% of the global market share for smartphones, according to analysts, while Google's Android platform is the new giant with 33%. Apple has about 18% too but makes more revenue from its iPhone than any of its competitors.
I spent most of my time at BlackBerry World in Florida last week contemplating RIM's predicted demise by American analysts, who love reporting on extremes. Is BlackBerry really in that much trouble?
Results of the annual Brandz survey were released on Tuesday, showing the top 100 most valuable brands in the world for 2011. BlackBerry is number 25 on the list, with its brand valued at $25bn. Impressive - until you consider that Google is number 2 and Apple has the most valuable brand in the world at $153bn.
The week before BlackBerry's big annual event, RIM issued a trading update warning that it expected profits to be down in the next quarter. Speaking to customers at the event, I found the sentiment at large to be that RIM is doing well on the product development front, but falling behind in terms of delivery and how quickly it can get new devices to market.
Technologists have a different view. Their gripe with RIM is that it has fallen behind in terms of user interfaces and application architecture. The secret to Apple's success has been a combination of the iPhone's market-beating user interface and the iTunes App Store, where you will find programs for literally anything that could possible be done on a mobile platform.
RIM has realised the lag and is working hard on changing things. It has opened up its platforms from a development perspective and has partnered with Microsoft, Facebook and other significant service and content providers to make sure that BlackBerry users not only get the BlackBerry Messenger and other bespoke RIM applications, but also the third-party content they need. BlackBerry still has a long way to go in this regard as developers flock to its two chief competitors.
Then there's BlackBerry's entrance into the tablet market with its PlayBook device. I have been using the 7" tablet for almost two weeks and found it very good from an interface perspective. It has the best multi-tasking functionality on a mobile device, and a highly intuitive interface with the ingenious addition of a touch-enabled screen bezel.
But the PlayBook has no apps yet. There are hundreds in its store, but nothing I need. No Twitter client, no Dropbox client and no Evernote app. Amazon is doing a Kindle app but hasn't said when it will be available. Ditto for Skype. The app argument for the PlayBook is very much in a "wait and see" situation. My full review of the device will follow in Finweek Magazine soon.
The point is that there are many uncertainties when it comes to BlackBerry. But its future still looks bright to me. The reason? Emerging markets.
While analysts fixate on the North American market, RIM is kicking ass and taking names in the developing world. Vodacom revealed that it has over 1 million BlackBerrys on its network, compared to 150 000 iPhones and 100 000 Android phones. In Nigeria, BlackBerry is taking over by all accounts and I have received similar reports from journalist friends in the Middle East as well as parts of Europe.
As these markets grow, BlackBerry's occupation of hearts and minds will begin to pay off in a big way and this could be the ace up RIM's sleeve. I also suspect we'll see some share updates soon that will shock competitors when they see RIM's true market occupation - not only in the smartphone vertical, but in the overall mobile pie.
Watch this space. It's make or break time for BlackBerry.
- Fin24
I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, where almost 2 000 new tablet computer products were announced. The year before, Apple hadn't revealed the iPad yet. In nine months a market was created and flooded with new products. Now the rapid pace of change is sweeping through Research In Motion (RIM) - creator of BlackBerry products.
BlackBerry practically invented the smartphone and enjoyed the lion's share of the market for these lucrative devices until last year. Apple and Google entered the market and in seemingly no time eroded RIM's market share. Now BlackBerry occupies 18% of the global market share for smartphones, according to analysts, while Google's Android platform is the new giant with 33%. Apple has about 18% too but makes more revenue from its iPhone than any of its competitors.
I spent most of my time at BlackBerry World in Florida last week contemplating RIM's predicted demise by American analysts, who love reporting on extremes. Is BlackBerry really in that much trouble?
Results of the annual Brandz survey were released on Tuesday, showing the top 100 most valuable brands in the world for 2011. BlackBerry is number 25 on the list, with its brand valued at $25bn. Impressive - until you consider that Google is number 2 and Apple has the most valuable brand in the world at $153bn.
The week before BlackBerry's big annual event, RIM issued a trading update warning that it expected profits to be down in the next quarter. Speaking to customers at the event, I found the sentiment at large to be that RIM is doing well on the product development front, but falling behind in terms of delivery and how quickly it can get new devices to market.
Technologists have a different view. Their gripe with RIM is that it has fallen behind in terms of user interfaces and application architecture. The secret to Apple's success has been a combination of the iPhone's market-beating user interface and the iTunes App Store, where you will find programs for literally anything that could possible be done on a mobile platform.
RIM has realised the lag and is working hard on changing things. It has opened up its platforms from a development perspective and has partnered with Microsoft, Facebook and other significant service and content providers to make sure that BlackBerry users not only get the BlackBerry Messenger and other bespoke RIM applications, but also the third-party content they need. BlackBerry still has a long way to go in this regard as developers flock to its two chief competitors.
Then there's BlackBerry's entrance into the tablet market with its PlayBook device. I have been using the 7" tablet for almost two weeks and found it very good from an interface perspective. It has the best multi-tasking functionality on a mobile device, and a highly intuitive interface with the ingenious addition of a touch-enabled screen bezel.
But the PlayBook has no apps yet. There are hundreds in its store, but nothing I need. No Twitter client, no Dropbox client and no Evernote app. Amazon is doing a Kindle app but hasn't said when it will be available. Ditto for Skype. The app argument for the PlayBook is very much in a "wait and see" situation. My full review of the device will follow in Finweek Magazine soon.
The point is that there are many uncertainties when it comes to BlackBerry. But its future still looks bright to me. The reason? Emerging markets.
While analysts fixate on the North American market, RIM is kicking ass and taking names in the developing world. Vodacom revealed that it has over 1 million BlackBerrys on its network, compared to 150 000 iPhones and 100 000 Android phones. In Nigeria, BlackBerry is taking over by all accounts and I have received similar reports from journalist friends in the Middle East as well as parts of Europe.
As these markets grow, BlackBerry's occupation of hearts and minds will begin to pay off in a big way and this could be the ace up RIM's sleeve. I also suspect we'll see some share updates soon that will shock competitors when they see RIM's true market occupation - not only in the smartphone vertical, but in the overall mobile pie.
Watch this space. It's make or break time for BlackBerry.
- Fin24
