The Enterprise is "All About BlackBerry" ... Still

The "BlackBerry Killers" still come and go. Meanwhile, the BlackBerry has been creeping into the hands of consumers at an eye-opening rate. As Tom Taulli points on in his latest Bloggingstocks article, RIM expect 15% to 20% increase in subscriber growth last quarter over earlier projections.

The increase demand seemed to be due, in large part, to unexpected demand during the Christmas shopping season. I think it is very safe to declare that BlackBerry is NOT just for the Enterprise any longer!

The Curve is the best Enterprise to Consumer crossover product on the market. As one of the first BlackBerry application development companies, REGARD is looking to develop broader consumer centric application to meet the growing demand.

BlackBerry - Not Just for Business Anymore

We are quickly closing in on a decade that RIM's BlackBerry platform has owned the enterprise messaging space. Hands down it has dominated all would be "BlackBerry Killers" with ease. Some newcomers overheated, some overrated, some oversized, and ALL over-promised!

With that, RIM has been late to the game of consumer features such as integration of camera, removable memory, and most notably multi-media functionality. This is all predictable as these features were not in high demand especially among security conscience IT types.

In the September 2007 edition of Entrepreneur Magazine (page 38), I am quoted as saying “the BlackBerry isn’t just for business anymore.”

When REGARD released the RV-Pileup game for Sony Pictures Entertainment, my kids began fighting over who is going to play games on my BlackBerry. It got so bad, that I put together three older units from spare parts in the REGARD BlackBerry graveyard and loaded them with every game I could find.

Everyone was happy until I switched to the BlackBerry 8300…now the new fight is over who is going to use my BlackBerry to take pictures.

Our children are growing up in a vastly different high-tech world! Below is a picture my 4 year old took this morning in my office using the Curve…ironically of Robin Williams on the RV movie poster. Don't expect too much...she is after all just 4!

Let the Smartphone WARS Begin!

BlackBerry Curve vs. Apple iPhone






Today marks the beginning of a new era in the Smartphone battle in the consumer space. RIM, as the category killer for mobile email and PIM integration in the enterprise market, first invaded the consumer Smartphone market with the introduction of the BlackBerry Pearl last year. Albeit lacking the needed integration of the multimedia functions to make it a meaningful consumer competitor, the Pearl was a very solid first offering which was quickly reflected in the stock price (NASDAQ: RIMM). Further, the Pearl did give the enterprise users already familiar with BlackBerry their first taste of a camera phone experience whetting their appetite for more consumer centric functionality.

With all of the iPhone hype, I decided to upgrade to the BlackBerry Curve (8300) to see (i) how the BlackBerry multimedia offering has advanced and (ii) to prepare myself for a comparison to the iPhone features.

Let me preface by disclosing that REGARD is one of RIM's longest standing BlackBerry partners and I have tried every single BlackBerry model RIM has released with few exceptions.

In a word... "WOW" ...Not since the introduction of the 7200 series has RIM made such a GIANT LEAP FORWARD!

Thankfully, they have once again "nailed" keyboard feel. After a few mediocre efforts, the Curve returns to an easy to use, hard to "fat finger" layout. The trackball is solid and more efficient than repositioning the hand to use the TrackWheel. It is the best composing experience since the 950 (and that is saying A LOT).

Now this is where the fun begins...within minutes of activating my 8300, I had loaded a 2 GB memory card with pictures of my wife and kids. I also loaded hundreds of songs with playlists which I listened to on the stereo headset at the gym. When a phone call arrived the Curve paused the music. I made dinner plans to meet another couple at Boss Sushi (highly recommended on Yelp and now by me) and, upon disconnecting from the call, the BlackBerry resumed the music right where it left off...a very nice experience!

After sushi, we took our friends at a Hollywood night club. Despite the dim lighting, I took a group self portrait and forwarded it to Flickr right from the BlackBerry Curve.



Today the iPhone was officially launched exclusively on the AT&T network today. I have read much of the iPhone hype and, being an iPod consumer that has also purchase car and external speaker accessories, I am very much looking forward to trying the Apple offering as well.

A few words of warning to those anxious customers that leaving their current carrier in the mad iPhone rush to AT&T. The iPhone "suggested" rate plans top at $99 plan giving you only 1350 voice minutes a month. The profile of consumer that will drop the $500+ to purchase the Smartphone, will likely blow through 1350 minutes very quickly. So if you simply ask for the top iPhone plan, you are likely to get hit with huge overage charges. There are 2000, 4000 and 6000 plans also available, but you have to know to ask for them.

This is amazingly clever of Apple and AT&T to craft these plans a such. Almost as clever, that is, as RIM announcing blockbuster earnings on the eve of the iPhone launch and skyrocketing their stock (NASDAQ: RIMM) $34 in one day!