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COMPANY PROFILE
three for CDMA only and one dual
CDMA/GSM. Each of these devices
runs RIM’s proprietary OS.
The Thunder has a touch screen
combined with haptics vibration
technology, standard Blackberry
software, a category-selector menu
much like the iPhone’s and a fullscreen
video player. It is part of an
aggressive product-rollout campaign
initiated by RIM. The firm has incurred
heavy operating expenses
related to the effort, which has
affected near-term earnings, but
the vendor’s efforts could have a
long-term payoff. “We believe the
company is aggressively investing
to become a more significant player
in the handset market and expect
the benefits to materialize this fiscal
year,” UBS Securities analyst
Maynard Um wrote.
RIM’s HSPA-enabled 9000 Bold
model is now shipping as is the
Javelin, an update of RIM’s Curve.
RIM’s first clamshell device, the
Kickstart, or 9100, was announced
as MCI went to press. Another rumoured
device is the Seawolf, or
9110, resembling the Kickstart but
with GPS capability.
RIM has also teamed up with social
network giant MySpace and Microsoft
to further strengthen its presence in
the consumer market. RIM says that
MySpace for Blackberry will provide
instant, push-based messaging to its
users, a compelling feature given that
one of the more cumbersome aspects
of social networks is the separation
of numerous inbox accounts.
The deal with Microsoft will make
the Redmond software giant’s Live
Search the default search engine
within the Blackberry browser. Users
will also be able to use Live Search to
perform contextual, location-sensitive
searches or look for nearby points of
interest from inside the Blackberry
Maps application.
RIM’s strategy now seems to have
diversified geographically from its
stronghold in North America. Over
the past few years, sales in the US
have accounted for around 70 per cent
of RIM’s revenue. However, overseas
sales have been accounting for an
increasingly larger chunk of its revenue.
Two important markets where
the company has been developing its
presence are China and Japan, which
have now been joined by India and
Eastern Europe.
Blackberry Pearl
RIM now faces growing competition
not only from email solution
providers but also from handsets
with email functionality, many even
offering Blackberry Connect itself.
Nokia’s E-Series devices, Palm’s Treo,
Samsung’s SGH-i320 and the Motorola
Q are just some of the devices that
RIM’s handset business will have to
compete against. Sony Ericsson also
announced out-of-the-box availability
of Blackberry Connect software
v4.0 on the Sony Ericsson P1i.
“I think RIM has performed really
well in the current climate and
have made a good job of moving
from business to consumer with
their product line-up—some good
devices now in,” says David Mc-
Queen, analyst, Informa Telecoms
& Media. “They probably needed
to do this as they’re going to come
under some pressure from the Apple
iPhone in business, particularly as
the new iPhone 3G has Microsoft
Exchange,” he says.
For all this talk of consumer offerings
RIM is still working hard
for its core user base of corporate
customers. Blackberry Enterprise
Server software tightly integrates
with IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft
Exchange and Novell GroupWise
and works with existing enterprise
systems to enable secure, pushbased
wireless access to email and
other corporate data. Though RIM
faces some hefty competition in this
space following the announcement
of Microsoft’s System Center Mobile
Device Manager 2008, which will
enable business IT managers to
remotely manage wireless devices
in the hands of employees in conjunction
with the Windows Mobile
operating system.
RIM’s history, post-Blackberry
launch, is characterised by explosive
growth and littered with a
host of legal tussles. Sadly, the days
of booming growth are long gone,
fortunately—or rather hopefully—so
too are the courtroom battles. As operators
move towards all you can eat
data tariffs, mobile email will surely
gain greater traction in the consumer
space and RIM’s brand and heritage
will be beneficial, but the firm’s dated
designs and hefty operating costs
could prove its undoing. ��
Mobile Communications International | First for news, best for business
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