Within the press release, one sentence jumped out – at least to those of us north of the border: “Apple just reported one of the best quarters in its history, with a spectacular performance by the iPhone—we sold more phones than RIM“.
The fact Steve Jobs made a point of mentioning RIM makes it official that the “war” between Apple and the Blackberry maker is now on. What had been minor skirmishes as the iPhone gained traction has turned into a high-profile conflict between the world’s leading smartphone makers.
It has been my contention that RIM would be more than able to deal with Apple given its strong foothold in the corporate markets. But now I’m not so sure.
It’s not that the iPhone will obliterate the Blackberry, it’s that the iPhone has tremendous momentum while RIM seems to be madly scrambling with new devices (e.g. Bold, Pearl Flip) to catch a second wind.
And it’s not to suggest the Bold isn’t innovative or cool, it’s that the iPhone is seen as a multi-function device (fueled by the popularity of the App Store), while RIM is still regarded as mostly an e-mail device.
The iPhone is Baskin Robbins offering 32 flavors of ice cream, while RIM is selling chocolate and vanilla.
While RIM has aggressively pushed into the pro-sumer market and enjoyed success with the Pearl, it has been puzzling that it hasn’t done much more to launch a user-friendly Web browser and a solid music/video player.
The lack of a compelling Web browser has been staring RIM in the face for years. Sure, the lack of high-speed networks was an issue but with 3G becoming more popular, RIM should already have a kick-ass browser.
Perhaps the biggest problem facing RIM and the Blackberry is perception. The iPhone is cool and wrapped within the Apple/Jobs aura. RIM is RIM – solid and dependable. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but what you buy right now.
More: If you’re looking to read the tea leaves, it is interesting to see venture capitalist and blogger Fred Wilson excited about using new Google’s G1 device. Henry Blodget asks how much of Apple’s value is attributed to Steve Jobs? He suggests 20%. More intriguing is the suggestion Apple needs to find a “strong No. 2 soon”.
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The Apple-RIM Wars Officially Begins
Apple being Apple, there is no lack of coverage about Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter results – the highlights being the sale of 11 million iPods, 6.8 million iPhones and 2.6 million Mac computers.
Within the press release, one sentence jumped out – at least to those of us north of the border: “Apple just reported one of the best quarters in its history, with a spectacular performance by the iPhone—we sold more phones than RIM“.
The fact Steve Jobs made a point of mentioning RIM makes it official that the “war” between Apple and the Blackberry maker is now on. What had been minor skirmishes as the iPhone gained traction has turned into a high-profile conflict between the world’s leading smartphone makers.
It has been my contention that RIM would be more than able to deal with Apple given its strong foothold in the corporate markets. But now I’m not so sure.
It’s not that the iPhone will obliterate the Blackberry, it’s that the iPhone has tremendous momentum while RIM seems to be madly scrambling with new devices (e.g. Bold, Pearl Flip) to catch a second wind.
And it’s not to suggest the Bold isn’t innovative or cool, it’s that the iPhone is seen as a multi-function device (fueled by the popularity of the App Store), while RIM is still regarded as mostly an e-mail device.
The iPhone is Baskin Robbins offering 32 flavors of ice cream, while RIM is selling chocolate and vanilla.
While RIM has aggressively pushed into the pro-sumer market and enjoyed success with the Pearl, it has been puzzling that it hasn’t done much more to launch a user-friendly Web browser and a solid music/video player.
The lack of a compelling Web browser has been staring RIM in the face for years. Sure, the lack of high-speed networks was an issue but with 3G becoming more popular, RIM should already have a kick-ass browser.
Perhaps the biggest problem facing RIM and the Blackberry is perception. The iPhone is cool and wrapped within the Apple/Jobs aura. RIM is RIM – solid and dependable. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but what you buy right now.
More: If you’re looking to read the tea leaves, it is interesting to see venture capitalist and blogger Fred Wilson excited about using new Google’s G1 device. Henry Blodget asks how much of Apple’s value is attributed to Steve Jobs? He suggests 20%. More intriguing is the suggestion Apple needs to find a “strong No. 2 soon”.
Technorati Tags: Apple, blackberry, RIM