Most Verizon BlackBerry users know that it usually takes Verizon about a year or so to come out with new BlackBerry devices after first appearing on the GSM carriers. I’ll give Verizon just a bit of credit for releasing the BlackBerry 8830 just a few months after it debuted on Cingular, however, Verizon has yet to offer the BlackBerry Pearl which first debuted last year.
Most of Verizon’s BlackBerry users, myself included, are business users and although we get frustrated that Verizon doesn’t come out with new BlackBerrys sooner, we aren’t willing to give up the network therefore we stick with them. The demographic for BlackBerry users, however, is changing. Everyday consumers increasingly are starting to look at smartphones for their personal devices, BlackBerrys included.
My question is can Verizon compete in the consumer BlackBerry market if they are still stuck in “new device a year after everyone else” mode?
Depending on what numbers you look at, Verizon has reclaimed the top spot as the nations largest carrier. Business users rave about the network and so do consumers but I am not so sure that a a consumer will wait a year to get the latest devices. I don’t think that consumers wanting a smartphone will necessarily defect to another carrier, however, I wonder if they would just look at devices other than the BlackBerry?
A consumer who isn’t already addicted to the BlackBerry may not hold it in a light brighter than any other smartphone with a keyboard on it. In fact, they may see Verizon’s BlackBerry devices as behind the times because they don’t have all the features that most of the other smarthphones, including the BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearl, have. Verizon has many other smartphones for consumers to choose from and I wonder if it matters to them if their customers are buying BlackBerrys for personal use or one of the other devices they carry so long as they are getting unlimited data plans.
Maybe a better question to ask as compared to can Verizon compete in the consumer BlackBerry market is does RIM need them to?
You can count me as a longtime Verizon Treo user (consumer, not business) customer ready to switch to BB. I got a BB through work, and have realized that it’s just a superior device in everyway, so I’m ready to get one for my personal use. I predict that the Treo will ultimately lose out to the BB in the consumer market. RIM has way outstripped Treo in terms of form factor and functionality innovation, and system stability (most important to me). Of course, Verizon isn’t making it easy to get the 8830. Their call reps keep telling me I can buy the phone on-line and when I show them that it’s not available they act surprised and then send me this wierd promotional e-mail for the 8830.
I am a VZW customer merely for the fact that the network is rock solid in the areas where I work and live.
I am a blackberry customer merely for the fact that the email capabilities are rock solid.
So it was a no brainer to marry the two. The problem is VZW wants to position blackberry devices only as a business device. I believe that is why the haven’t carried the pearl. It is too consumer friendly to fit into their lineup.
The way I see it is this. As far as smartphones are concerned, VZW has blackberrys for business and WM for consumers. They want to keep their lineup diverse and they don’t want to cannibalize sales with crossover users.
I don’t agree with it, but VZW has never been one to give users tons of choice.
time to try cingular again – although its not as good as verizon, it is good enough…. (at least in my area). i left verizon and wont look back…
Yes, Verizon dosn’t have a wide variety of choices they have a solid network though. I wish they would start carrying Blackberry devices for consumers instead of just business people I would be more than willing to sign up with them if they did but because they don’t I am with another company :(.
Granted, Verizon does have a rock solid network, but in addition to them being “developmentally delayed” in regards to equipment, has anyone else noticed that they have disabled functionality (the GPS functionality in Blackberry maps, for one), where other carriers such as CIngular leave it intact. The other item that ticks me off is the rollout of products first to the business users, and then to the consumers. Are we the red headed stepchildren of the market? If anything, more consumer users than business users are the ones that milk every function out of a device. (They should after all..the cost is coming out of their pocket.) This way, any shortcomings would be found by the early adopters rather than as “serious problems” discovered by a Fortune 500 company after a company wide deployment.
I have been a VZW user since it was called Bell Atlantic. my average bill is over $400 a month – yes I am always on the phone for work and have 4 lines with them including a wireless card. I have news for you VZW – its not the network any longer. I have been testing Cingular for the last 6 months and they are not bad (coverage in the nyc area is much better than it used to be and I haven’t drop a call on them.) I have also traveled and have had no issues in any state or international. Also, they don’t cripple their phones as much as you do. The 8800 navi works. VZW killed theirs – just like they did with the 8703 which I currently use (that’s why I haven’t bought the 8830) or just about every phone that ever came with bluetooth. Sprint doesn’t, but their coverage isn’t as good.
My point is that I feel that I have had it with VZW and will be switching to cingular as soon as the 8300 comes out. I am sure I am not alone. power belong with those that pay for the service. you have no right to cripple phones.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
#6 brings up a good point: there is a huge opening for ATT if they will only invest the big dollars in improving their network infrastructure and getting it to catch up with Verizon’s.
If ATT could match Verizon’s network, they would reverse the sales trends and start to pull away from Verizon in subscribers. If I were ATT I’d go directly after Verizon’s strength, invest the big bucks in my network, and make a most public display about doing so.
Right now my impression is that the network will always trump the devices, in the judgment of most consumers. Most consumers aren’t like those of us on these tech blogs, obsessed with every detail of every latest gadget. Most people just buy a phone from the selection available, and are impressed with what they get. If most consumers have the impression that the most reliable network is Verizon, that is who they will gravitate towards, because first and foremost people want a mobile phone that works.
Certainly, enterprise users will choose the most reliable network.
Nothing would please me more if another carrier like ATT started giving Verizon a run for its money on its network scope. Such competition would be good for the consumer and might wake up Verizon to some realities in the marketplace.
Just talked to a local rep and he told me that they are getting the pearl that I already new but that was it no curve. I like the curve the world phone is nice but the keys are all together no camera and unfortunately for me I don’t get around the world that much. might not get it. this is what makes me want to leave verizon they sit on that network like its the be all end all. Is it? i have my cellphone with me all day everyday so it better look good feel good and do what i want it to do not what i have to settle for.
Like many of us I’m also with Verizon as well, and have been through just about every smart phone that they have offered over the last couple of years. Once I took the jump to the Blackberry I never looked back! There platform is rock solid and absolutly nothing out there can come close to it. Which brings me to Blackberry Devices offered through Verizon. When the 8800 came out on AT&T I just had to have it, I still kept Verizon and use it as my second line because of the great reception. But I have news folks, AT&T is not that bad at all. Reception is fine, and EDGE speeds are just fine for using the WEB. All and all, I don’t think Verizon can compete with AT&T when it comes to bringing new Blackberrys to the market. They have the 8800. the Pearl (8100) , and the CURVE is just around the corner. When the CURVE hits the market I think alot of people are going to jump ship from Verizon.
I don’t want to turn this into a carrier debate, but there is one major reason why I, along with many other people I know, don’t want to leave VZW. It’s because of IN Network calling. I’m in N. NJ and I would bet to say upwards of 75-85% of the people I know with cell phones are on Verizon. I recently looked at my bill and noticed that 50-60% of my calls are IN Network mobile to mobile minutes. So should I switch to AT&T I would have to double the minutes on my monthly plan. Clearly that wouldn’t make financial sense. It would cost me around $30 extra a month to cover my used minutes on AT&T. So I think I’ll stick with the crippled camera-less blackberrys.
Kevin: if I understand you correctly, you seem to indicate that Verizon may be getting the Pearl soon. Do you have any reliable info?
I also think you may be correct in that the Curve may tempt more than a few BB fans from VZW to ATT. However, the numbers of these won’t make a real dent in the VZW customer base, as these tend to be a relatively small group of technophiles.
Robb: For some reason I missed the last few paragraphs where you add your insight that maybe Verizon doesn’t really need to compete in the consumer BB market, and so RIM may need this more than VZW.
I think you are spot on in that observation: VZW probably doesn’t miss out on that many sales by getting BB’s later than other carriers. However, if I were RIM, I would want to use VZW to compete for the consumer market.
One, VZW has the reputation for best network, and brings many subscribers to the table.
Two, as I’ve mentioned before, VZW may be RIM’s best leverage to compete in the consumer market against ATT’s iPhone exclusive. The iPhone will be a sales phenomenon no matter what, but a nice BB Curve on VZW’s network may keep a few users from defecting for the iPhone.
Thought: I have a friend that has a son who works at IMO (Independent Mobile) where they sell all brands of mobile devices and service all the major U.S. based carriers and he was telling me that Verizon subscribers looking to get their first smart device flock to the BlackBerry if it is going to be used for business use, however, consumers looking to get their first device tend to get devices other than the BlackBerry if they really want MP3 playback or digital cameras.
Even though they could switch carriers and get BlackBerries with more features on other networks, they tend to stick with Verizon and look at devices with more appealing features.
He also said that BlackBerry users on other carriers are loyal to their BlackBerrys, however, consumers looking to get their first smartphone switch to Verizon if Verizon has the device they want almost without thinking twice about.
That’s an interesting observation. It sounds like the network is most important to existing Verizon subscribers where the device is most important to consumers on the other carriers.
You are all correct – the Curve is VZW’s only real defense againist the iphone. There is nothing out there even close to it.
One thing I disagree with #11 – these technophiles have friends – lots of them and they (alone with their fiends) have families. Most of them expense their BBs to their companies (less the $10 per line for each additional phone that shares the family plan). So I don’t think its going to be such a small dent – specially when you add the iphone to it. iphone will not end up costing 499 or 599. you can bet there will be rebates etc.
#9 is also 100 correct in that AT&T isn’t all that bad. I have had both for aver 6 months. coverage is about the same. In fact, it takes vzw a few extra seconds to connect the call and I have add more drops with vzw in NYC than with cingular/AT&T – although to be fair I have had drops with AT&T as well. Call quality seems to be better with vzw.
Face it – CDMA is headed and soon will be as dead as FDDI is in networking. FDDI couldn’t beat the ethernet standard and CDMA won’t be able to beet GSM. You can’t beat a global standard with 80% market share. IT cost less to make GSM phones so they sell them to the carriers for less than the same CDMA phone today. its juct a matter to time imo.
IS,
Beleive it or not CDMA is actually growing in the U.S. Verizon is growing at a faster clip than AT&T and let’s not forget about Sprint which is switching over it’s Nextel subscribers over to CDMA Sprint side of the house.
The whole global standards argument doesn’t carry weight in the U.S. Today CDMA is much faster and more reliable the GSM and it isn’t going anywhere until Verizon, Sprint, and Alltell say so.
Hey Thought. not sure how reliable my info on the pearl for Verizon is but its the first time Ive gotten a rep form the V to admit to anything new on the blackberry front.
VZW is missing the boat, big time. I work for a SMB which pays for my service and I use my Blackberry religiously. Aside from consumers, they seem to be missing this segment too. My company doesn’t care what kind of features my BB has (Camera, Wifi, GPS, Ice Cream Scoop), I can choose whatever I want (as long as I can get email).
Since the consumer oriented BBs have been released (starting with the Pearl) I have been waiting to see what VZW will have. My contract is up in July and I WILL be leaving VZW if they do not have a consumer oriented BB. ATT has positioned themselves (with the iPhone and the Curve) to get the consumer and non-enterprise type business.
VZW listen up !!!!
“It is much harder to get a new customer than to retain an existing one……”
How about AT&T will have the iphone and the Curve, and already offer every other smart phone out there, HTC 8525, Treo 750, etc. Verizon has neither at this point. They are going to miss the consumer boat. There stance is our network is the best, take what we have to offer! Not to cool if you ask me. I do give them credit for getting the 8830 out only a couple of months after the 8800. But the Curve is going to be the next big thing, plus VZW basically skipped right past the pearl. We’ll just have to wait and see how people deal with all these consumer devices coming to the shelves!
Preaching to the choir Sean. I wish Verizon would get their “act together”, however, I feel that for something to happen sooner than later, RIM will need to push Verizon in the right direction.
Robb: interesting observations from your friend’s son; that would confirm the trends in the market.
As for RIM pressuring Verizon, unfortunately, I just don’t see that happening.
In the world of mobile phones, it is the carriers with all of the power. Carriers are used to dictating to vendors, not the other way around. The one exception may be Apple, but hey, they’re Apple. And even Apple had to give carrier exclusivity, which is the real prize.
I think the only thing that will change VZW is competitive pressure; only when they lose enough customers will they change, and that will only happen when another carrier creates a comparable network.
like it or not verizon but they need to just accept the consumers in looking to get the BB’s. it may sound wierd but im sixteen and people all around me..(consumers)are surrounded with BB’s with tite people like steve aoki and lindsay lohan caring around BB’s thats sweap the teens by storm. almost everyone one i know either has some BB or smartphone around.
I’m also tired of Verizon’s nonsense. I’m in South Jersey and I want a new Blackberry Pearl, but Verizon is still stuck with the old Blackberries and charges a lot for their data plan. I’ve been using a normal cell phone for a few years and I want to switch to a Blackberry. I was looking at the 8830, which comes out next week. However, I think I may hold off until the new Pearl comes out – hopefully with a better camera, Wi-Fi, and most importantly, GPS! I think Verizon is definitely behind the ball but I really doubt they care. I agree with some of the previous comments that mentioned that most people stay with their carrier and pick from what they have; personally I had no idea that all of these other phones existed until I looked outside of Verizon’s narrow shield.
Any update on the Pearl coming in 2nd Qtr to Verizon? Only 40 days left in Qtr……
It may not be Verizon’s fault. They cant offer what RIM doesn’t make. RIM seems to consider CDMA to be business oriented (because of Verizon) and is only offering units to fit that bill.
Who is really suffering is those of us on Sprint. We are not hardcore business, have a great network and want a consumer BB.
Actually gquaglia, it is more Verizon’s fault than you think. Research in Motion president and co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, has been quoted saying that they can quickly port over the BlackBerry to different hardware because it is a java environment and they don’t have to re-debug everything.
Thought also makes a great point that in the world of mobile phones the carriers have all the power. So, if Verizon really wanted to come out with BlackBerrys sooner than they do, RIM most definately would ablige them.
I agree that it is frustrating that we as verizon customer continue to get the new products after everyone else. But I do like buying a product that has been tested and refined over one that is rushed into production like AT&T, Sprint/Nextel, and T-Mobile do. Take the new iphone for example AT&T and Apple were in such a rush that they rushed a phone to the market that runs off of out dated 2g technology. Why would I want to spend so much on something that doesn’t work on the current techonology and most likely won’t work on the future systems as well? So I am happy to wait on a phone that might be a couple of months old and has fewer bugs or problems than my friends phone that they bought a couple months ago. I like quality over newness and flash for my money.