BlackBerry Users Not as Loyal as RIM May Think

I just read an interesting user loyalty study by iGillottResearch, Inc. and it confirms something that I have thought for quite some time. BlackBerry users loyal to the RIM’s push email service, not necessarily to the BlackBerry device itself.

BlackBerry Users are pretty happy with their BlackBerry service and most are likely to buy another BlackBerry in the future. In the United States however, you are really only able to get BlackBerry service on a BlackBerry device. Nokia announced last fall that they would support BlackBerry Connect on the Nokia 9300 and Palm has been saying that they will support it on the Treo for the passed couple of years but BlackBerry is still the only readily available way to get BlackBerry Service. A problem for RIM is that these same “loyal” users find other competing designs extremely appealing if they can get BlackBerry service on them.

“We believe this study to be the most detailed survey of BlackBerry users yet conducted and the only study that clearly identifies their loyalty to BlackBerry and the drivers of that loyalty,” says Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGillottResearch. “While existing BlackBerry users are happy with their devices, the study is good news for RIM’s competitors since the opportunity for a successful alternative smartphone is clearly identified.”