A few years back, the Blackberry was the smartphone of choice for business professionals and the tech savvy alike. It was a dominating device that quickly stole the throne from the Palm PDA, the original Motorola Razr and several other devices.
Then came Apple’s iPhone.
Then came Google’s Android.
“There’s always a bigger fish.” – Qui-Gon Jinn
The Blackberry market share has continued to shrink year-after-year to the point where it’s a question on how long Research In Motion, the manufacturers of the Blackberry device, will stay in business.
Blackberry 10 is scheduled to make its debut this coming January after months of delay. If the launch is unsuccessful, this could be the final nail in the coffin for the company making them ripe for acquisition from one of the “bigger fish”.
The Blackberry devices have done a lot of things right, however, making them a still strong alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to join the Apple/Android party train.
First, the battery life for their phones is amazing. We can only hope the new Blackberry 10 can sustain this. I recall when I owned a Blackberry being able to go a couple days without charging versus a couple hours on those other devices. It’s icing on the cake of what’s already a strong, durable device that can likely endure a nuclear war alongside cockroaches and the Honda Civic.
Second, while there are some really good chat/SMS applications out there, Blackberry Messenger rules them all like the one ring. (Nerd plug for @RichIGN)
Third, while their App World may not yet compare to Google Play or iPhone’s App Store, they were able to quickly capitalize on this trend and put together a pretty nifty storefront. This is a great indication that they’re willing to change with the times as needed.
A lot of eyes will be on the Blackberry 10 event next month. This could be the foothold they need to reclaim some of the smartphone marketplace they’ve lost or it could answer the question “Is Blackberry Still Relevant?”
What do you think?
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