Davis ThinkingBlackberry Crumble
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
We're confused by this derivative spot for the Blackberry Storm, the company's new iPhone "me too." Is this Blackberry, Apple, or Target?
Tag: Blackberry
At Issue } essential reading
The New BlackBerry Brand (Please Don't Ask "Who's That?")
Jan 31, 2013
The long delayed release is critical to BlackBerry’s attempt to re-enter the marketplace. Once the darling of company-issued smartphones, owning nearly a quarter of the marketplace in the U.S., they currently have about a 4% share.
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Bowing to Critics and Market Forces, RIM’s Co-Chiefs Step Aside
Jan 23, 2012
Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, who made the BlackBerry a leading business tool but then presided over its precipitous decline, said they would step down on Monday as co-chairmen and co-chief executives of Research in Motion. The two men, in developing the innovative device that was the first to reliably deliver e-mail over airwaves, turned a tiny Canadian company into a global electronics giant. But they are stepping aside after disappointing investors and leaving customers wondering whether RIM still has the ability to compete, and perhaps even survive, in the rapidly changing markets for smartphones and tablet computers.
Why Pandora Is on Virtually Every Device
Jan 18, 2011
If it seemed like Pandora was everywhere at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, it's because, well, it was.
"Alone Together": An MIT Professor's New Book Urges Us to Unplug
Jan 14, 2011
Sherry Turkle, has been an ethnographer of our technological world for three decades, hosted all the while at one of its epicenters: MIT. A professor of the social studies of science and technology there, she also heads up its Initiative on Technology and Self. Her new book, Alone Together, completes a trilogy of investigations into the ways humans interact with technology. It can be, at times, a grim read. Fast Company spoke recently with Turkle about connecting, solitude, and how that compulsion to always have your BlackBerry on might actually be hurting your company's bottom line.
When It Comes to Facebook, Relevance May Be Redefined
Nov 30, 2010
May 4, as you may or may not know, is National Star Wars Day, a fact recognized by no less august bodies than the Los Angeles City Council and the Church of Jediism, a George Lucas-inspired denomination that counts itself as the fourth-largest church in the United Kingdom. This year the occasion was also marked by the folks at BlackBerry, who updated their corporate Twitter account to read "May the 4th Be With You."
RIM Unveils 7-Inch BlackBerry PlayBook, It's All About Enterprise
Sep 28, 2010
It's here: After months of teasing, RIM's revealed its iPad rival. Except it's targeted at Enterprise customers. Or so says RIM anyway. Meet the PlayBook. Debuting the BlackBerry on stage at the RIM developers conference, after months of speculation, rumors, and hype, RIM's Mike Lazaridis noted it was the "first professional tablet." Be that as it may, it's definitely a swipe at the iPad, which many commenters have suggested is more of a consumer media consumption machine, despite an impressive uptake in enterprise markets which was recently enough to cause city analysts to up their Apple stock predictions. (RIM, remember, was already on a high after quarterly earnings jumped a surprising 68% from the same quarter last year.) What's inside RIM's PlayBook?
Android Outsells iPhone for the First Time
Aug 3, 2010
Nielsen's second-quarter statistics for smartphones are out, and of course it involves the quickly evolving and often bloody fight between Apple's iPhone and the various phones using Google's Android. For the first time, more new purchasers (within the past six months) have chosen Android more often than iPhone. Android accounted for 27% of those smartphone sales in the US, while the iPhone snagged 23%. BlackBerry, of course, remains on top.
Borders Opens E-Book Store
Jul 7, 2010
Borders' new e-book store is now open for business. The bookstore chain officially unveiled its new e-book store on Wednesday, with a million and a half electronic books, both paid and free, in a variety of formats, including ePub, mobile, and PDF. Customers can read the e-books using free software powered by Kobo and designed for different devices, according to Borders. The lineup includes existing applications for the PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and new apps just launched for Android and BlackBerry phones, all of which are available at Borders' Web site. In addition to reading the books through the apps, users can browse or search for e-books, download specific titles, and access and manage their e-book libraries.
Relentless Revitalisation: the iPhone
Jun 22, 2010
My latest Apple-aholic's post. On Apple's relentless revitalisation with the iPhone 4. Video of it here. This will help them grown even further, and challenge RIM/Blackberry for Smartphone leadership. Latest data shows they now have a 28% of the US smartphone market. And in fact, they are already the leader brand in the US in terms of smartphone browser usage (how much time people spend web surfing on their phone).
RIM's Strategy to Stay on Top in Smartphones
May 12, 2010
For Research in Motion, the maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, staying No. 1 isn't about apps or fancy hardware, it's about cost effectiveness. For all the hoopla surrounding Apple's iPhone and the various Android smartphones that have hit the market recently, many forget what is still, by a healthy margin tops in the market: RIM's modest BlackBerry. And RIM intends to stay on top by doing what it does best: offering something that's more affordable and can operate on wireless networks more efficiently than its flashier competition.
The Most Corporate Band
Apr 9, 2010
On its path from rootsy L.A. hip-hop troupe to pop juggernaut, the Black Eyed Peas have been escorted by a parade of corporate backers. From Coors to Levi's, Honda to Apple, Verizon to Pepsi, brands have padded the group's video budgets, underwritten its tours and billboarded band members in prominent places. When Apple was preparing the 2003 launch of the iTunes store, The Peas' "Hey Mama" became the first song associated with the iconic campaign's dancing silhouettes, a point of pride for will.i.am, the band's frontman.
Nokia Brand Needs Firm Direction
Apr 6, 2010
Nokia retains a massive share of the global mobile phone market, but cracks are beginning to appear in its once-impenetrable leadership. In particular, the electronics brand is struggling to defend its lead in smartphones - the fastest-growing and most profitable part of the mobile phone business.
How Palm's Marketing Missed, and How It Plans to Recover
Apr 5, 2010
Last year, Palm had the hottest handset not named iPhone. The Pre was the company's long-awaited Hail Mary -- or at least its best shot to revive the once-storied brand and reclaim a bit of the hand-held market Palm created. Today, the Pre is not selling and nor is its cheaper, lower-end model, the Pixi. The company's stock plunged 30% on a fateful day last month as two analysts cut their price targets to zero and Morgan Joseph & Co. analyst Ilya Grozovsky called Palm "essentially in an accelerating death spiral."
What's the Future for Verizon's IPhone? It's All Over the Map
Apr 5, 2010
Apple is set to drop AT&T as the exclusive carrier of its high-selling iPhone and introduce a new version of the handset for Verizon, which would ship next fall, according to the Wall Street Journal, ending the three-year lock AT&T has had on the iPhone in the U.S. (abroad, the iPhone is usually available on multiple carriers). So what will it mean if the iPhone is added to the nation's largest mobile network -- and one of its biggest advertisers? Expect a ripple effect for other handset makers, the app economy and mobile advertising that plays out something like this.
Has RIM's BlackBerry App Strategy Failed?
Mar 12, 2010
Although BlackBerry is the most widely used smartphone system in the United States, with 43 percent of the market, its application strategy seems to have failed. Research in Motion's BlackBerry App World is significantly less crowded than Apple’s App Store. As of the beginning of this year, there were around 150,000 applications in iTunes, whereas BlackBerry App World had between 10,000 and 15,000 applications and Android was slightly higher, but in the same ballpark. There is not too much going on in terms of branded BlackBerry applications and it is rather ironic considering its marketshare.
Store Set to be Apple of Master’s Eye
Dec 21, 2009
In 2007 Steve Jobs launched the iPhone with a fanfare of fiery rhetoric. The iPhone, Apple's chief executive claimed, was three "revolutionary" devices in one. Combining a touch-controlled iPod media player, a phone and an "internet communicator", the iPhone was "a leapfrog product that is way smarter than any mobile device has ever been". In contrast, when Mr Jobs introduced the App store a little less than 18 months ago, his vocabulary was considerably more muted.
RIM Logs Strong Sales; Palm Posts Loss
Dec 18, 2009
Research In Motion Ltd. reported surging profits and sales of its BlackBerry devices while rival Palm Inc. posted another quarterly loss amid signs that consumer demand waned for its newest smart phones. The results showed the diverging paths of a market leader and an underdog in an increasingly competitive smart-phone market. Shares of the two companies moved in opposite directions in after-hours trading. RIM's shares jumped 12% to $71.21, while Palm's shares fell 8.7% to $10.70.
RIM May Feel Android Effect
Dec 17, 2009
Verizon Wireless made clear from the start that its Droid smartphone was designed to put pressure on Apple, the maker of the iPhone, and AT&T (T), the exclusive U.S. iPhone carrier. As part of a $100 million marketing push, Verizon Wireless enumerates several ways it believes the Droid outperforms the iPhone. Yet analysts say the Droid and other devices that sport the Android operating system may also take a toll on Research In Motion, the maker of another smartphone, the BlackBerry. "It's clear there's been a lot of marketing at Verizon around the Droid, so that is going to hurt RIM," says Raymond James (RJF) analyst Steve Li.
Can Nokia Recapture Its Glory Days?
Dec 13, 2009
If there’s anywhere left in the world where it’s still impolite to flash a BlackBerry or an iPhone, it’s Nokia’s annual analyst meeting. But earlier this month, as executives talked up the company’s plans for 2010, the optimistic message from the stage was belied by the behavior of the audience. In the back of the room, one money manager after another distractedly toyed with a competing device, typically a BlackBerry, even as cheery PowerPoint slides promoted Nokia’s latest offerings.
There’s A Brand Strategy For That
Dec 8, 2009
Yesterday’s New York Times’ article, Apple’s Game Changer, Downloading Now, was a fascinating read. I’m not knowledgeable enough about the technology behind mobile apps to evaluate the story as a representation of the programming and development challenges and opportunities of all the different companies. But I found it a provocative report on the different brands’ strategies.
Sweet Harmony For Brands, Musicians
Dec 7, 2009
The potential synergies between consumer brands and the music industry have never been more important to explore. With total ad spending down 15 percent in the first half of 2009 compared with the first half of 2008 and ad spending on music down 16 percent in the same period, it makes sense that an increasing number of marketers and musicians are interested in essentially doubling their promotional weight, both on- and offline.
Squeezing Blackberries
Nov 5, 2009
I used to carry a Blackberry……during the golden age of the Blackberry, when it was first nicknamed the “Crackberry.” I remember fondly images of people squishing their Blackberries between the window and the window shades on airplanes to get better reception for just that last email before takeoff. It was a revolutionary device for sure, and RIM did a great job in its development. Legions of corporate IT staff will only support that device, and more individuals carry it quite loyally. However. I hadn’t been paying attention to their advertising for a while, until I heard a recent iPhone commercial. I heard the Beatles “All you need is love” and then I looked up and saw… Well, I saw that it was an ad for the Blackberry, not the iPhone. All I need is love? For an addicting device? For the workhorse business device?
You Are Now Entering the Touchscreen Smartphone Era
Nov 5, 2009
Touchscreen smartphones are the thing in the U.S. this year, with sales growing so rapidly it would give the Ares I-X a run for its money. And next year the pace of the change is going to be even faster. Welcome to the touchscreen era. Comscore's data looks at the three months ending August of this year versus the same period last year, and the numbers pretty much speak for themselves: Among U.S. smartphone subscribers aged 13 and over, some 33.8 million owned regular push-button smartphones, against 23.8 million owning touchscreen ones. While that data looks stacked in favor of regular push-button phones, check out the growth rate. Smartphone ownership grew a whopping 63% over last year, proving this is the smartphone age all right--dumbphone sales simply can't compete with that growth. And touchscreen smartphone sales exploded 159% at the same time, which is incredible.
iPhone Poised to Snup Up More Business Users?
Nov 4, 2009
When you think of corporate smartphones, you tend to think almost automatically of RIM's BlackBerrys--they're solid, reliable, iconic, successful and have sewn up something like 40% of that market. The iPhone, with its glossy looks, high-tech allure, reputation as a gaming and entertainment platform and relatively high unit costs isn't something you'd necessarily associate with a corporate environment. Apple itself has gone on record to state that the tens of thousands of apps that are helping to make the phone a success (thousands of which seem business-oriented) are most definitely not business tools, implying the phone itself isn't.
RIM Wants BlackBerry to Shed Its Image
Oct 27, 2009
Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry mobile device, is trying to broaden the brand's appeal beyond e-mail-obsessed professionals. The Waterloo, Canada, BlackBerry maker recently launched an international ad campaign with a new tag line: "Love What You Do." The ads feature BlackBerry users enjoying life outside work.
Marketers Salivating Over Smartphone Potential
Oct 21, 2009
Jeff Smith is a diligent social-networking user, but he doesn't own a PC. "I prefer a cellphone and a service for a cellphone," says Smith, 40, a postal worker in Detroit who served as an Army Ranger in Desert Storm and Somalia. For about a year, Smith has used MocoSpace (for "mobile community space") to chat, meet people, search the Web and play games. "Anything else feels like too much." The majority of people who participate on social networks do so from their PCs. Yet a growing number — many of whom can't afford a PC or would rather not use one — are using mobile devices to tell their friends where they are and what they're up to and for sharing pictures.
BlackBerry’s Love for U2 Comes With Budget No Label Can Match
Oct 8, 2009
Irish rockers U2 will step on stage tomorrow in Tampa, Florida, helped by BlackBerry’s sponsorship of their world tour in a deal no record company could offer. Research In Motion Ltd.’s “BlackBerry Loves U2” advertising campaign is part of a trend where brands are stepping into the breach as plummeting sales shrink music labels’ marketing budgets. Once reluctant to be seen as selling out to corporate sponsors, artists are keen to sign up.
Information Overload
Sep 24, 2009
Information overload dates back to Johannes Gutenberg. His invention of movable type led to a proliferation of printed matter that quickly exceeded what a single human mind could absorb in a lifetime. Later technologies – from carbon paper to the photocopier – made replicating existing information even easier. And once information was digitised, documents could be copied in limitless numbers at virtually no cost. Digitising content also removed barriers to another activity first made possible by the printing press: publishing new information. No longer restricted by centuries-old production and distribution costs, anyone can be a publisher today. In fact, a lot of new information – personalised recommendations from Amazon, for instance – is "published" and distributed without any active human input.
Naming and Branding v. Category Domination
Sep 4, 2009
The Branding Strategy Insider has me thinking about the relationship between brand naming and category domination. They think that dominating a category is more important than extending your brand - no matter how well regarded your brand name is, it simply cannot grow if the category is dying or overly crowded. Kodak is the prime example here: we all know the brand name, but few of us use film anymore and their crossover into digital photography has been rocky. The advice here is to start a new brand in a new category, aka Starbucks, Red Bull and BlackBerry. The idea is to have a narrow focus, get in first and grab deep recognition and reach. Clorox = bleach. Tabasco = hot sauce. That's nice work, if you can get it.
The Rules For Balancing Technology and Relationships
Jun 16, 2009
Is our increasing desire to stay in the loop distracting us from the people who should matter the most in our lives?
Apple: Why Brands Matter
Apr 23, 2009
As the executives at Apple (AAPL) were passing around the Dom Perignon, their counterparts at other companies which design and manufacture smartphones were putting all sharp objects out of reach. In a recession, there is only so much air in any room. Smart phone sales are suffering like all consumer electronics. If the iPhone is doing extraordinarily well, others are doing badly.
Wall Street Journal iPhone App Sets Content Free
Apr 16, 2009
The Wall Street Journal, one of the few newspapers that charges for content online, released an app for the iPhone Wednesday which sets their content free, poking another hole in one of the internet's oldest pay walls.
iPhone For Business
Apr 10, 2009
Probably one of the biggest criticisms that the iPhone gets is that it’s considered not the best phone for business. That judgement is based on the comparison on the keyboard and email functionality with the Blackberry. This new iPhone ‘Office’ ad suggests that the App Store might just change our view of the device: while for many of us we find our work days spent sending and receiving missives, Apple reminds us that there’s much more to running business and the phone might “just have an app” for all those other tasks we should be doing instead.
RIM Launches Blackberry App Store
Apr 1, 2009
RIM joins the likes of Apple and Google in offering its own exclusive applications marketplace
Skype Announces Service for iPhone, BlackBerry
Mar 30, 2009
Skype is planning to launch its service for iPhone users on Tuesday and for BlackBerry in May as part of its effort to expand beyond desktop computers.
The Apps Battle Heats Up
Mar 26, 2009
Research in Motion will soon launch an online store to rival Apple's, with Nokia and Microsoft to follow.
Pressure on Blackberry, Google, Microsoft to Catch Apple
Mar 18, 2009
Apple's sneak peek at iPhone 3.0 shows that most of its smartphone rivals, such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, Android maker Google, and Microsoft are still far behind in mobile software. Can they catch up?
Blackberry App Store Sets Recession-Defying Prices
Mar 5, 2009
Research In Motion (RIM) yesterday announced its application store for BlackBerry devices, now called as App World. The service, previously known as App Center, will offer BlackBerry owners an easier way to buy and install new applications on their phones, similar to Apple's popular App Store for iPhones.
What’s a Hulu? The Origins of 8 High-Tech Names
Mar 2, 2009
You know the names, but do you know where those names came from? Here are the stories behind the naming of TiVo, BlackBerry and more – including what they were almost called.
The First Telecom President
Feb 13, 2009
Feb. 12 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Considered by most historians as the greatest American President, Lincoln was also the first President to grasp the benefits and power of telecommunications. Barack Obama has been an avid admirer of his fellow Illinoisan Abraham Lincoln.
U.S. Patent Office Deals Apple An Ace Against Palm
Jan 27, 2009
The "don't rip off our IP" spat between Apple and Palm continues: Turns out the U.S. Patent Office has gone ahead and awarded Apple a patent covering its "multitouch" technology, including gestures such as "pinching" and "swiping." Will it be the ace up Apple's sleeve?
BlackBerry Gets a Marketing Boost From Obama
Jan 19, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama's unpaid endorsement of the BlackBerry has provided maker Research In Motion Ltd. with a marketing boost its competitors can only dream of.
For BlackBerry, Obama’s Devotion Is Priceless
Jan 9, 2009
This week, Michael Phelps signed a deal worth more than $1 million to advertise Mazda in China. Jerry Seinfeld earned a reported $10 million to appear in Microsoft’s recent television campaign. But the person who may be the biggest celebrity pitchman in the world is not earning a penny for his work.
Touch-Screen Blackberry Storm Gets Mixed Verdict
Nov 24, 2008
Research In Motion's first touch-screen Blackberry, from Verizon Wireless, boasts an ultra-fast Web browser and great multimedia. But the SurePress keypad takes some getting used to.
