It seems like Research in Motion is saying everything that it possibly can about digital cameras and BlackBerrys without actually saying that they are going to eventually stick a camera into a BlackBerry. I completely understand the business reasons that say putting a camera into a BlackBerry is not such a great idea, however, if RIM is truly trying to tackle the consumer smartphone market can they be successful without a CameraBerry?
Simply put… NO! Microsoft and others are trying to break into the BlackBerry niche market. RIM needs to embrace all the little things that consumers want.
Think about this way… Why do most consumers own Windows based computers instead of Linux, Mac, etc? Because they use Windows at work. The trend started a long time ago, but the look at the current market shares to see the results.
I have to agree with d_fisher – RIM needs to bring all the features that consumers will embrace. That means cameras, media players, and smaller size.
IMO, RIM needs to come out with a “flip” phone format, and a thinner, smaller “candybar” style – think RAZR thin. Develop a BlackBerry “Lite” version that ditches the funky SureType keypad and goes back to a standard numeric keypad with T9 text prediction. Focus on streaming media services – make it easy for a consumer to get their “tunes” and such. Deliver the device as a streamlined data-consumption device – and don’t worry about the data-entry part, the consumer is more interested in the wiz-bang features along with having email pushed to them.
Lastly, RIM should concentrate on continuing to be the easiest device to use. Palm, Windows Mobile, and even Symbion/S60 are more difficult to use – they need to leverage this in their favor.
A few thoughts…
One, in any push into the consumer market, RIM needs to be careful not to lose any focus or execution in its strategy for the enterprise market. Many times a company will try to expand outside of its specialty, and get burned by it. The enterprise segment is a fantastic market to dominate, and one that’s far easier to navigate than the ever shifting, fickle, price-sensitive consumer market.
Second, one needs to define success in the consumer market. This is a far more elusive market. Is success selling more units than Palm…or Moto…or, etc.? RIM wil likely not sell as man Q’s as Moto…but they can make a dent in the market. But how much of a dent makes it worthwhile for RIM to pursue this market?
I too would love to see a BB with a camera, music player, etc. But the consumer market is a tough one to crack. Consumer tastes change frequently, consumers tend to be more price sensitive than business/govt., and you have to introduce new models more frequently to keep the consumer market happy.
It looks like this won’t be an issue for RIM. Rumor has it that T-Mobile is coming out with a CameraBerry in September.
I would like to see BB offer more for the individual user. Whithout loseing there foucus on corprate user.
I had a smartphone and did not like the way web pages looked, or how it made seeming simple things difficult to use.
I feel the next code name for the new BB should be “SLEDGEHAMMER”.
Because it would crush the competition. What I would like to see is…
Full QWERTY keyboard backlit
indoor/outdoor screen
2MP camera or better
802.11g
Bluetooth Class 2 v2.0
Speaker Phone
Full size SDcard Slot
A smart Card reader
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Connection
Some type of Media player that can do Music, pictures and Video
Intel 614Mhz
Nvida 32Mb of dedicated video memory
Nanflash user memory at 10Gb or higher
Windows, Mac, and Linux compatible
Software to view and manage spreadsheets,documents and attachmets
Just name a few things. Without getting carried away.