Rumor has it that Research in Motion has wisely decided to discontinue the individual letter designations for the same model BlackBerry devices on different carriers and networks. Instead of BlackBerry 8100c, g, t, e, i, v, and any letter that I have forgotten that is currently used, we will just have the BlackBerry 8100.
All that I can say is that this is a great move by RIM that was long overdue. I know that I have brought this up before, but, I would imagine that majority of BlackBerry users out there have no idea what model BlackBerry they have. Don’t believe me? Just ask a non-IT person that doesn’t read blogs and message boards about BlackBerry everyday that has had their BlackBerry more thank 3 months what model they have.
Despite the efforts of the Research in Motion marketing department to dilute the brand BlackBerry with all of the meaningless letter designations that no one remembers anyway, it still was ranked the third coolest Brand in the UK, came in second behind the Treo in brand loyalty here in the United States and is arguably the most recognized mobile device in the world.
Now all RIM needs to do is abandon the number designation for a cool name. It is much easier to remember names than it is remember numbers. Think about cell phones that you don’t own that have a number designation that you can actually remember. The names Rokr, Slivr, Razor, Q, StarTac, etc. just kind of roll of your tongue. SGH-T719, you know the Samsung Flip Phone with a SureType keyboard, does not.
It should be an easy concept for any company to grasp: human beings have a far easier time remembering a word than a model number designation. Our minds think in terms of words first.
Apple and Motorola get this fact; will RIM catch on?