Although the still not officially announced release of the BlackBerry Pearl is less than two weeks away, there are still some that just don’t understand why a BlackBerry with a camera is necessary or even think that CameraBerrys are bad ideas.
There is a very vocal few that believe that sticking a camera in a BlackBerry is the worst thing since, allowing your BlackBerry to be used as a Broadband modem, or even putting Bluetooth into BlackBerrys. It’s truly amazing that Research in Motion has more than doubled in size since coming out with the BlackBerry 7100t, the first BlackBerry with Bluetooth, almost two years ago because this feature was supposed to doom the company.
What these naysayers fail to realize is that these are features that BlackBerry users, commercial and consumer alike, want in their devices. The reason that you hear so much from the folks that think innovation is a bad thing as compared to those complaining that features aren’t available is that potential new users that don’t see features that they want, don’t complain on every website, blog, and message board that will listen, they just buy devices that have the features that they want.
Believe it or not, people have a choice. BlackBerry is not the only gig in town. Now, I am not questioning that it it might be the best, however, there are other options. Some businesses dictate which devices there users carry and if they say BlackBerry, the endusers don’t have much of a choice. This is very true, however, I would be willing to bet that more BlackBerry users carry a second device than any other smartphone/PDA user in the market. Why is this? Because users want what they want. They want Bluetooth and to be able to use their BlackBerrys as broadband modems, and yes, they even want digital cameras built into their devices.
What’s the big deal about a BlackBerry with a camera? People want BlackBerrys with cameras. Although very, very late, RIM is smart enough to realize that people want what they want, and more importantly, buy what they want. If more mobile devices with cameras are sold than those without, it probably makes sense for RIM to come out with devices that have cameras…
Don’t you think?
Upcoming service packs are going to allow business that use BES to restrict the use of the camera and removable media among other things. I would guess that the service packs will come out at the same time as the 8100, or shortly there after.
I am one of those that think placing a camera in a BlackBerry is a horrible idea. Is it because I am anti-technology? No, rather it is because the images that today’s cell-phones take are horrible – they’re poorly lit, fuzzy, tiny, out of focus, and add additional bulk and weight to the device. The 8700 is my second ‘berry, my first being a 7520. The 8700 is certainly more sexy with its shiny, colorful screen, but I also noticed that the simpiler 7520 was much more stable, crashing perhaps only once in a couple of years of continuous use. The 8700 is still basically solid, but adding even more complexity does not excite me.
Now if somebody finally provides a cell phone that takes images that appear to come from a Canon PowerShot instead of Fred Flinstone’s camera then I’ll be happy to change my tune.
Now I realize that there is a market for camera phones, mainly people who do not want to take quality pictures, it is mainly a plaything. Rim, In my opinion has held off putting cameras in the blackberry for one main reason and one that i can attest to personally. One of the largest users of blackberries are government officials around the world, FBI, CIA, CSIS, RCMP to name a few. I work with government agencies very often, and in most cases upon entering security checks our phones. Those with the treos and other “camera phones” have to leave them with security. Imagine being in a six hour meeting with no access to your business because your phone is sitting in a lockbox. I know RIM is bandwagoning but you will never see cameras in their full line, and quite possibly the pearl may not even leave its shell