Analyst: BlackBerry may lose the "apps war"
updated 09:40 am EDT, Fri June 19, 2009
BBerry May Lose App War
Despite shipping 7.8 million BlackBerries and forecasting stronger sales, serious doubts exist about the BlackBerry's future, according to Needham analyst Charlie Wolf. Issuing a "hold" call on Research in Motion's stock, Wolf is concerned that the company's heavy dependence on home users for new subscribers -- 80 percent of the 3.8 million last quarter -- will leave it vulnerable to multiple new competitors, including the iPhone 3G S, the Palm Pre and multiple Android phones from HTC, Motorola, Samsung and others. He also worries that BlackBerry App World won't catch on and that greater choices with Apple's and Google's platforms will lead customers elsewhere.
"BlackBerry could be a loser in the upcoming smartphone apps war," Wolf says. "Software companies are increasingly focusing their development efforts on the iPhone and Android."
RIM was a late participant to the centralize app store field and launched BlackBerry App World only in April, months after Android Market and the iPhone's App Store became public. Recent estimates put App World's catalog at just under 1,100 titles while Android has 4,900 and the iPhone has about 50,000. RIM's policies also potentially discourage certain developers as it mandates that any paid app must carry a price of $2.99 or higher where both Apple and Google allow 99-cent and $1.99 downloads.
Whatever
06/19, 11:35am reply
I'm very happy with Blackberry, and unless Apple lets the IPhone available on TMobile in the USA I'll be sticking with Blackberry. I just recently got a new one as a matter of fact.
scotte75ky
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Joined: Jan 2008
Windows Mobile?
06/19, 12:12pm reply
out of pure curiosity, how come WinMob is never included in these widely quoted statistics? I don't have a crappy Windows Mobile device, so maybe thye can't even run 3rd party apps, but I thought they could....
(a very happy iPhone owner)
_Rick_V_
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Joined: Mar 2003
smartphone OS comparison
06/19, 12:32pm reply
Based on this review that compares the smartphone OSs (inc WinMo): http://www.localytics.com/blog/post/smartphone-os-wars-what-platforms-to-develop-for-part-i/
do you think the key for a successful BB App World would not be more mobile users, but a simpler payment process and developer interface?
BB_Nik
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Joined: Jun 2009
please...
06/19, 12:33pm reply
Analysts. What do they know!
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
May?
06/19, 03:03pm reply
It already lost.
slapppy
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Joined: Mar 2008
Keyboards
06/19, 03:15pm reply
The real threat to Blackberry is not from the iPhone, but from Palm. No one I know is thinking about Blackberry versus iPhone. The decision is keyboard or iPhone.
Apple has perfected the touch phone, so I don't see that market being threatened for the moment. The Palm Pre is attacking the keyboard phone market and will likely take a bite out of BlackBerry and Android sales.
The user experience on the BlackBerry is so poor, the Palm Pre (with its tiny screen) looks good. In fact, I'd say the only reason the Palm Pre even gets a mention is that there is no s*** OS for a phone with a real keyboard. Although younger to middle-aged people prefer the touch screen to a keyboard, middle-aged to older users prefer keyboards.
Zanziboy
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Joined: Aug 2008
The most dangerous
06/19, 10:58pm reply
blow to RIM would be acceptance of the iPhone into the corporate environment. Then the BlackBerry would no longer have the exclusivity it once had.
Don't think that every corporate user wants a BlackBerry. They take it because it's given to them, just like Windows PCs. They likely have no say in the matter. I'm sure a standard BlackBerry serves them well for communication and such, but depending on whose using the iPhone, it could probably do a lot more for them then just checking emails all the time.
The AT&T lockdown for the iPhone is likely a dealbreaker for many corporations around the country, too.
Constable Odo
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