I am giving you ample warning, there is a bit of a rant coming…

Apple announced the iPhone 3G yesterday and to everyones surprise, set the price pretty darn cheap. I certainly didn’t expect the new iPhone to be $199. I commented about my surprise and even wrote a post asking RIM what are they going to do next. I hope, however, that I didn’t give the impression that it is all over for RIM and that the BlackBerry can’t compete anymore in the market which they currently dominate.

Was I surprised? Yes. Do I think that yesterday marked the beginning of the end for the BlackBerry? Expletive No! Let’s not forget that the first time the iPhone killed the BlackBerry, RIM’s marketshare increased and they made more money and sold more BlackBerrys than they ever have before. This is why I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why folks, once again are claiming that they BlackBerry is dead.

RIM may be the leader in the enterprise market right now and companies like Microsoft will constantly claim that they can hold their own, but rest assured that this is a two horse race. And although the BlackBerry has led the way, Steve Jobs just dealt a decisive blow that will not only force RIM to capitulate, but could see the end of the BlackBerry line altogether.

Lets focus on the second sentence in this quote from a CNet piece by Don Reisinger. Come on now… Really? The only thing the iPhone 3G had that you didn’t expect was MMS and because Apple decided to make it affordable, it could see the end of the BlackBerry line?

Five words come to mind… Are you frigging kidding me!

Now, I don’t mean to pick on just this one CNet article. There literally are dozens of other ones out there with the same sentiment.

The iPhone 3G costs half as much, is twice as fast and because of this, the most dominant smartphone company in the world needs to close up shop. Nevermind all the business reasons that helped RIM increase it’s share over the last year, the iPhone is faster and cheaper so the BlackBerry can’t possibly compete… I mean, Really?

BlackBerry users… Carry your umbrellas with you today. The sky is falling.