RIM has been able to get by with their old release strategy largely in part because Verizon subscribers generally don’t switch carriers. RIM knows that even if a CDMA BlackBerry is released on Verizon a year after it it first released on a GSM carriers that there will be Verizon subscribers eagerly awaiting its launch.

Although I don’t agree with this strategy I can see some of the benefits of it from RIM’s perspective… The main benefit being that it allows RIM to capture lightening in a bottle twice. If a new GSM BlackBerry is a big hit you can pretty much be sure that the CDMA version will hit big as well. The problem, however, with this strategy is that your biggest GSM carrier becomes the flag ship carrier for the the hottest mobile device, well…ever and that device is not named BlackBerry.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with the news lately, Apple released a little mobile device called the iPhone 3G not quite a month ago and most reports indicate that it it is the fastest selling mobile device in history. It just so happens that not only is AT&T the flag ship carrier for the iPhone, but, they are the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the United States.

I am not a conspiracy theorist, however, I don’t believe that it is just a coincidence that AT&T is experiencing huge success with the iPhone 3G and the BlackBerry Bold, which was supposed to makes it’s debut last month is probably not coming out until next month or later. AT&T, being the sole carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., has a strong desire to sell as many iPhones as they can. This is not to say that they don’t want to sell as many BlackBerrys as they can, however, I believe that they are going to focus their efforts on what is hot right now.

This is a problem for RIM because GSM BlackBerrys, with the exception of the upcoming BlackBerry Thunder, always come out significantly before their CDMA counterparts. If AT&T isn’t all gung-ho about releasing a new device, this poses a problem for RIM because T-Mobile just isn’t big enough to be the primary GSM provider in the U.S.

To make a long story short, I’d be willing to bet that the BlackBerry Thunder will be the first of several new devices to come out in a CDMA variant first.

MobileMe, the $100 a year service from Apple supposed to bring corporate, dare I say, BES-like synchronization of email, calendars, and contacts, to Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones, and iPod Shuffles has been having problems from the start. I don’t want to say that it flat out doesn’t work, but, it has enough bugs, outages, and flaws in it for me to say that it flat out doesn’t work a lot of the time.

Now, you might think that since I am a BlackBerry blogger and all that I might be a bit biased against the iPhone. Well don’t take it from me. Take it from someone who is widely regarded as one of the most influential technology writers out there, Walt Mossberg.

Know that I am fully able to transfer music and podcasts from iTunes to my BlackBerry I fully admit that I probably never will. I guess just knowing that I could if I wanted to is enough for me.

“Sometimes when you need to drive a nail, the best thing to do is hit the damn thing with a hammer.”

I am not trying to tell you the the iPod is the best MP3 player out there, however, when you combine it with iTunes and the iTunes store, I believe there is no better option for listening to watching content while on the go. Hell, I’ve got an iPhone and barely listen to music with it just because my library is too big and it is a hassle choosing which movies I want to watch before I go on a trip when I can just take them all with me on my iPod Video.

I am not going to jog while listening to my BlackBerry. I am not going to hook my BlackBerry up to the DVD player in my car. My BlackBerry doesn’t fit any of the various speaker systems or alarm clocks around my house or office. Convergence is fine concept, but, sometimes, it is just not necessary.

Maybe a better question to ask over do you really listen to music on your BlackBerry is do you really need to?

We know that there are consumers who either just don’t want an iPhone, or, are on some carrier other than AT&T and aren’t going to switch so that they could get an iPhone, but, all the iPhone buzz makes them want to get a new device too. My guess is that carriers other than AT&T are already starting to realize these consumers and it won’t be long before AT&T starts to notice them as well.

The big question for me is if the BlackBerry Bold will be out in time to realize these benefits of the iPhone buzz. We know that BlackBerry users overwhelmingly won’t be lured by the iPhone and will wait on the BlackBerry Bold no matter how long it takes for it to come out. I am wondering, however, if RIM and AT&T will release the Bold in time enough to capture the attention of the smartphone consumer with no allegiance that would actually compare multiple devices and weigh the pros and cons of each that initially came into the store to look at the iPhone 3G.

This worked for RIM last year with the BlackBerry Curve. Do you think that it will work again this year with the BlackBerry Bold?

 
Remember when Steve Jobs said that Apple wouldn’t make an iPhone with a slide-out keyboard?
Well that was until he realized that he simply wouldn’t gain ground in the business world on the BlackBerry unless he reversed his stance.

According to The Register, mobile operators are reporting that a corporate iPhone with a slide-out keyboard may already be in the works. Jobs is asking what if type questions. “If you had a keyboard version, how many would you take?”

From the BlackBerry side of things…

We already know that the BlackBerry Thunder is coming and it will be first BlackBerry with a touchscreen, however, like the iPhone, will not have physical keyboard. I expect many BlackBerry users will shy away from anything without an actual keyboard and this includes the BlackBerry Thunder.

Although I am glad that the BlackBerry Thunder is coming out on Verizon first, I’ve often wondered why RIM would allow the BlackBerry Thunder to be a lifetime exclusive on Verizon. I can only hope that this is because another touchscreen BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard is in the works for the other carriers.

Just like it was inevitable that the a BlackBerry with a touchscreen would come out eventually, an iPhone with a keyboard just makes sense if Apple is ever to gain ground on RIM in the corporate world. If I were RIM, however, I would come out with a BlackBerry slider before Apple comes out with an iPhone with a slide-out keyboard. RIM should have all the advantages of creating a good slide-out keyboard that Apple had with creating a good touchscreen interface.

A BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard is an area where RIM should lead the market as compared to reacting to it. That’s my opinion. What do you think?

[Source]

 
I know that all the BlackBerry buzz right now is about the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry KickStart. The machine is even getting into gear for the BlackBerry Thunder. The device that I believe a lot of BlackBerry users that really follow RIM are waiting for, however, is the touchscreen BlackBerry that will have a pull out keyboard.

I know that there are BlackBerry traditionalist that don’t think RIM should ever come out with a slider, but, many of those same people didn’t think that a camera, SureType, or even a color screen would ever fly. The biggest knock on a BlackBerry slider is durability, however, I believe that RIM, who has a knack for building sturdy devices, will be able to get past this hurdle.

There is no doubt that if the BlackBerry Thunder rumors are true, I will probably be getting one day one or sooner, however, I think that a BlackBerry with a touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard will be the next really big thing for RIM.

This is just one man’s opinion so take it with a grain of salt, however, BlackBerry Thunder is about as ridiculous a name for a mobile phone that I’ve heard. It sounds more like power tool or something.

“The Black & Decker Thunder… The most powerful electric leaf blower money can buy…”

I certainly hope that BlackBerry Thunder is just the code name and that RIM will come up with something a bit more eloquent. Like they named the 8100 the Pearl after the trackball introduced on the BlackBerry Pearl, the BlackBerry 9500 should be named after the touch screen it will introduce.

As part of a newly-created team, you’ll influence the development and design of BlackBerry software,” the listing reads. “This is a very confidential brand new team and a senior position within RIM so I can’t provide too many details. I guess you can figure out what it might be about though.

I guess there are a couple of ways you could go with this. RIM is definitely working on a touch screen BlackBerry. Maybe they are looking for someone with expertise on the iPhone’s interface. The issue I see here is that it will take them years to come up with something as good as the iPhone’s interface and as I’ve said before, RIM cannot out Apple Apple.

The other thought is that RIM is looking for an iPhone developer to actually develop software for the iPhone. The question here is what BlackBerry software could RIM possibly want to run on the iPhone? I’ve got two words for you…

BlackBerry Connect…

A lot of people are going to say that BlackBerry Connect has really never taken off. I believe, however, that this was not because of a shortcoming in BlackBerry Connect. There has been, in my opinion, no device readily available in the United States that truly could even compete with the BlackBerry on a hardware stand point. Why buy an inferior device that could get email like a BlackBerry when the device you truly want is a BlackBerry in the first place?

This was pretty much the case until the iPhone shipped last June. Needless to say, the iPhone is doing pretty well with consumers that would not have nor would they ever be interested in a BlackBerry. Many of these very consumers, however, work for corporations that would be more than happy to try to squeeze more productivity out of them by allowing them to get corporate email on their personal device especially if the company can leverage the investment in BES that they’ve already made and the employee is the one funding the device.

BlackBerry Connect on an iPhone addresses so many of the IT concerns that Apple will face as they try to move in on RIM’s turf. They way I see it, BlackBerry Connect on an iPhone would be a win/win for both Research in Motion and Apple.

What do you think?

Verizon reported net income today of $1.64 billion, 57 cents a share for Q1 08 compared to Q1 07’s $1.5 billion, 51 cents a share. Total revenue is up 5.5% coming in at $23.83 billion. Even though new-subscriber growth was lower by 12%, 1.3 million of the 1.5 million new Verizon subscribers signed up to long term contracts which was almost twice that of AT&T and that includes AT&T iPhone subscribers.

At the end of the day, I doubt most mobile phone users care or possibly even know what network technology their phone uses. A lot, however, can be said for the strength, perceived or actual, of your network.

A bit of a facetious opening statement, I know, however, I am amazed at the number of people predicting the end of RIM, and every other mobile phone manufacturer for that matter, simply because Apple has released a really cool phone. Do you remember that movie Demolition Man and how all restaurants in the future were Taco Bell? Well, if you believe some of these articles, all mobile phones will be iPhones eventually.

Let’s see. Since the iPhone came out, more BlackBerrys have been sold than iPhones, RIM has posted it’s biggest quarterly earnings to date, and celebrities keep flocking to the BlackBerry when we can rarely find a picture or two of celebs with iPhones.

How exactly is the iPhone killing the BlackBerry again?