I was reading a comment from a RIMarkable reader that calls himself EvilHomer about why he feels Verizon will never gain an edge as far as BlackBerry devices are concerned over GSM based carriers. Although I don’t agree with every point, I think he is dead on for the most part.
His post really made me think about just how Verizon has been able to get by with their strategy of releasing new BlackBerry devices almost a year behind their GSM competitors and doing very well for themselves while doing so.
His post also made me think about how this time is coming to an end for Verizon.
Verizon owns the Business BlackBerry market
The majority of BlackBerry users in the United States use their devices for business and the percentage of business users on Verizon is probably the highest of the big 4 carriers. This is because Verizon has more business contracts than the other carriers and also because their personal plans are generally more expensive than the other carriers. They have the most business users and consumers aren’t nearly as quick to pay the premium for their service.
Many business users view their BlackBerry as an email device
Many readers of RIMarkable who are completely nuts over their BlackBerrys won’t feel this way but the overwhelming majority of business BlackBerry users see their BlackBerry as an email device. Next time you are in the airport notice the number of business travelers that have a BlackBerry and a mobile phone. The percentage is going down but there are quite a few business BlackBerry users carrying around a BlackBerry and a mobile phone.
New BlackBerrys don’t do much more than old BlackBerrys
Before you CrackBerry addicts PIN me the 643 things that you can do with your BlackBerry 8700v that you couldn’t do with with your 7250, I admit that I know that this isn’t technically true. The perception among casual business users, however, is that newer devices don’t do so much more that they just have to have them. Truth be told many BlackBerry users couldn’t even tell you which device they have let alone the new device coming out. That is until the BlackBerry Pearl hit the scene.
How does Verizon get by releasing new BlackBerry devices a year after the GSM carriers?
To make a long story short, simply because their corporate customer base hasn’t demanded it. Sure, they’ve complained that they shouldn’t have to wait a year after everyone else to get the Blackberry 8700, but, it is wasn’t like companies were canceling their corporate contracts in droves.
The latest greatest BlackBerry devices just haven’t offered enough new benefits to make Verizon’s corporate customer base revolt if they couldn’t get the device shortly after they launch on GSM carriers.
Times are changing for Verizon
The generation of BlackBerry devices coming out starting with the BlackBerry Pearl changes the entire game for Verizon. Super thin, cool looking, MP3 playing, picture taking BlackBerry devices will appeal to corporate and consumer BlackBerry users alike. The real benefit to corporate users, however, is that their models may allow them to open attachments, edit common file types, and interact in ways not possible with BlackBerry devices before.
These benefits that next-gen BlackBerrys add that will ultimately change the way business users use their devices as compared to the features older models added in addition to sending and receiving email are what will make Verizon start to offer new BlackBerry devices sooner.
Hopefully Verizon has realized that the game has changed for them. Customers who may have complained when a new device came out on a GSM carrier that it shouldn’t take a year for the same device to come out on Verizon but stuck around and waited it out may not complain any longer. They may just switch. I know I would.
Excellent post. Long… But very good.
I think that I may have said this on one of your other posts. I will switch if Verizon doesn’t offer the BlackBerry 8800 in a timely fashion in comparison to everyone else.
One major reason is because even though many Verizon Blackberry users are on corporate plans being paid for by their companies, cancellation fees are tied to the employee. My company issued me a 7250 about 20 months ago and even though I don’t pay for it, I would have to pay the cancellation fee if I cancel before April.
I am the mobile services administrator for a a fairly large insurance company with over 1000 subsribers and we use Verizon exclusively in the US. I like the fact that Verizon doesn’t release new BlackBerry devices for extended periods of time after everyone else becasue it keeps the flood of malfunctioning older devices when a new BlackBerry comes out from ever starting.
When Verizon releases a new BlackBerry, usually the hooplah surrounding its initial release on Cingular or T-Mobile has long since passed. Users often forget to drop their mobiles in the bathtub or down the stairwell or whatever other excuse they can come up with for needing a new device.
You wouldn’t believe the number of Treo 650 devices that broke right around the time the Treo 700w came out.
Good post. You left out the network, which is the my small business uses Verizon. Verizon’s is the best for voice and data. For voice, Verizon has service in a lot of rural areas where Cingular doesn’t. For data, their 1X network is far more widely deployed, as is their EVDO network. 1X is “good enough” for tethering as well as using my blackberry. EVDO is awesome for tethering, and really overkill for what my blackberry can do.
However, as time goes by, Cingular’s network keeps improving. Soon, Cingular will be on par with Verizon for voice and data, then the device and price will rule. At that point, unless Verizon changes its game, I will bid them a not-so-fond farewell, since their service will no longer be worth paying a premium.
I have stuck with verizon in the past but the 8800 is a device i want. I will switch and even pay the ETF if they dont have it within a reasonable timeframe….
Can someone tell me why the already built-in GPS receiver in Verizon’s 8703e is deactivated? It doesn’t make sense to me…
Do you think people like Paris and Lindsay use their BB for texting mainly or do you think they also use it for daily email?
Don’t you think that Verizon’s release schedule for BlackBerry devices is based on when RIM makes them available? It seems to me that RIM develops the GSM based device first and then the CDMA based device. This is why the newest features/devices come to market sooner for Cingular/TMobile, which happen to run a GSM network. RIM probably considers that the GSM market is larger globally, than the relatively small CDMA market that exists mainly in North America, so it develops GSM products first.
Do you think people like Paris and Lindsay use their BB for texting mainly or do you think they also use it for daily email??????
I know lots of people like me waiting for Verizon to get the Pearl, but I ain’t gonna wait much longer. It would be helpful if Verizon would give us a timetable when they expect to release it.
Brando,
I would be willing to bet the they use it for both. Over on Celebrity BlackBerry Sightings we have a ton of posts about Paris, Lindsay, and their BlackBerrys.
My
prediction still stands: I really believe that you will see a Verizon 8800 style BB sometime in the first half of this year, maybe first quarter.
I believe that both RIM and Verizon understand the sales potential.
“Can someone tell me why the already built-in GPS receiver in Verizon’s 8703e is deactivated? It doesn’t make sense to me…”
Because verizon cripples every phone they sell. For CONTROL, for nickle and diming.
Robb,
They do have lots of pictures. I know these celebrities are actors and whatnot but do you think the MAIN purpose is text messaging/IM or email???
verizon gets last years phone models because they use non-standard, proprietary, qualcomm cdma instead of the global standard for mobile communications GSM. That and no manufacture is in a rush for vzw to start “fixing” firmware to remove functions and app’s as they were designed into the phone, makes everyone look bad.
Hell NO’s comments certainly have validity…Verizon is using a technology that is less popular worldwide, and they certainly do disable features in their equipment.
That all being said, the reality is that Verizon, for better or worse, has by far and away the most reliable network in the US. Period. If and when another carrier catches up to Verizon on that front, then I will consider them. Until then, Verizon still has my loyalty.
That is why, in spite of the complaints about Verizon, that the carrier continues to add the most net customers every quarter, and by far and away has the lowest industry churn rate. There’s a reason why: because when all is said and done, a cell phone device is useless unless it can get a signal. And Verizon is best at delivering that signal. It may be an advertising cliche, but it really is the network.
There is no question that Verizon’s network is unmatched in the US.
Better check coverage maps… its very close. The Global Standard GSM has caught up in the US with cdma. Admitting anything else is fooling yourselves.
EvilHomer is wise beyond his words…
One more observation: there is a reason why so many people care about Verizon getting the latest BlackBerry’s…because Verizon’s network is so good and so used, esp. by those in industry and govt.
Hell NO: I wouldn’t go by the coverage maps alone. Those can be very misleading.
No GSM carrier in the US comes close to the coverage of Verizon. Period.
If you don’t believe me…just check the quarterly sales figures. Verizon every quarter adds more net customers than Cingular or T-Mo, and has far lower churn than either GSM carrier. There’s a very simple reason for that: far superior coverage. You can’t argue with the sales figures.
I’ve mentioned this several times, but it is an anecdotal story that bears repeating: I live in the state of Florida and the entire state govt switched to Verizon because they were the only carrier to keep functioning during the hurricanes of recent years. This is but one illustration of the reliability of the Verizon network.
I was talking to a friend who uses Cingular last night – he mentioned that he was unable to get signal in a lake area where he’s looking for a vacation home. I was in the same place last week and had solid 1X signal. My business partner owns land in another rural vacation area and communicates via Verizon where his Cingular-using friends are out of signal.
The difference between being out-of-touch and in-touch when on vacation is huge for most business people. That’s why they stick to Verizon.
Also, other than GPS, Verizon doesn’t disable features on blackberry devices. Razrs are another matter, I agree.
one more on the Cingular vs. others debate. I signed up with teh Cingular Blackberry Pearl a few weeks ago. the phone ROCKED. The coverage was okay(~10 call failed in 3 weeks), the static on their network was TERRIBLE. I returned the phone yesterday. I even swapped out the Pearl for a 2nd one last week thinking it was the phone not the service. Incorrect. Most calls I couldn’t hear some words from the far party…buh bye Cingular….damn, and I fell in love with the phone too….
Verizon actually does disable OBEX profiles, Verizon User.
I live in nyc and I think verizon, cingular and t-mobile each have good consumer market share. This is a big city and for those who do not travel to the country can deal w/ cingular and t-mobile. I will say, however, that even though this is a big city, cingular friends of mine do have frequent dropped calls, are unable to sometimes make calls, and do not have service coverage where verizon does have it. I have been w/ verizon for 6 years now and believe me, it is very frustrating waiting for good phones, but I honestly do not want a sub-par network and so I stay. For now.
Hello !
Very good forum! Good info!
[url=http://payday-111-loans.blogspot.com]payday loans[/url] http://payday-111-loans.blogspot.com
I am glad to find this forum!
[url=http://tramadol-lll.blogspot.com]tramadol[/url] http://tramadol-lll.blogspot.com
Good stuff, very nicely done!
[url=http://phentermine-a-prescription.blogspot.com]phentermine prescription[/url] http://phentermine-a-prescription.blogspot.com
The Good lad an author! I much like site!
I don’t belive that Verizon owns the business blackberry market. Lehman Brothers, Prudential and many other big banks all run Cingular services….
I think you made some good points in your post.