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Frank Eory
For every Blackberry owner I ever knew, "email" was precisely the reason they ...
eewiz
Apple is grabbing those enterprise slots pretty fast. In addition many ...
Could RIM really mount a comeback?
Dylan McGrath
1/30/2013 2:31 AM EST
Anybody remember Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM)? That's the Canadian firm that makes Blackberries—those handsets that used to be cool because you could use them to send email, but now seem about as archaic as the Palm Pilot.
RIM has been steadily losing relevance and market share over the past few years as iPhone mania and the rise of the Android operating system have taken hold of the smartphone market. But RIM is not dead yet.
According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, RIM's pending introduction of the Blackberry 10 handset represents RIM's final charge in its struggle to become a viable third smartphone brand behind market leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. IHS said it could also be the final chance for the Blackberry operating system to become a viable No. 3 behind Apple's iOS and Google Inc.'s Android.
"This year we will see multiple attempts to fight the Samsung/Apple smartphone duopoly in smartphone hardware—along with the twin Google/Apple duopoly in smartphone operating systems,” said Ian Fogg, senior principal analyst at IHS, in a statement. “Because of the fast-rising adoption of smartphones, 2013 represents the last, best hope for RIM's BlackBerry 10—along with endangered specimens like Microsoft's Windows Phone, Nokia's Lumia and Mozilla's Firefox—to create a viable third smartphone competitor in the market."
Together, Samsung and Apple accounted for close to 50 percent of global smartphone shipments in 2012, according to IHS. Android and iOS collectively held about 90 percent of the smartphone operating system market, IHS said.
At the same time, IHS said, smartphones accounted for nearly 50 percent of all mobile handset shipments last year. By 2016, the firm expects that smartphones will account for nearly 75 percent of all smartphones shipped.
“With smartphones soon to reach their maximum penetration, time is running out for RIM and other Apple/Samsung/Google competitors to stake a claim in the smartphone business,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS.
Next: Under gun
RIM has been steadily losing relevance and market share over the past few years as iPhone mania and the rise of the Android operating system have taken hold of the smartphone market. But RIM is not dead yet.
According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, RIM's pending introduction of the Blackberry 10 handset represents RIM's final charge in its struggle to become a viable third smartphone brand behind market leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. IHS said it could also be the final chance for the Blackberry operating system to become a viable No. 3 behind Apple's iOS and Google Inc.'s Android.
"This year we will see multiple attempts to fight the Samsung/Apple smartphone duopoly in smartphone hardware—along with the twin Google/Apple duopoly in smartphone operating systems,” said Ian Fogg, senior principal analyst at IHS, in a statement. “Because of the fast-rising adoption of smartphones, 2013 represents the last, best hope for RIM's BlackBerry 10—along with endangered specimens like Microsoft's Windows Phone, Nokia's Lumia and Mozilla's Firefox—to create a viable third smartphone competitor in the market."
Together, Samsung and Apple accounted for close to 50 percent of global smartphone shipments in 2012, according to IHS. Android and iOS collectively held about 90 percent of the smartphone operating system market, IHS said.
At the same time, IHS said, smartphones accounted for nearly 50 percent of all mobile handset shipments last year. By 2016, the firm expects that smartphones will account for nearly 75 percent of all smartphones shipped.
“With smartphones soon to reach their maximum penetration, time is running out for RIM and other Apple/Samsung/Google competitors to stake a claim in the smartphone business,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS.
Next: Under gun
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tangey
1/30/2013 6:36 AM EST
"Apple shiped 48 million iPhones in 2012"
Hmmmm.
They shipped 48M iphones in the last quarter of 2012.
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dylan.mcgrath
1/30/2013 1:42 PM EST
Right you are. Thanks for pointing out the mistake, which was now been corrected.
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dutchmam
2/1/2013 5:07 PM EST
Who "They?"
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de_la_rosa
1/30/2013 12:05 PM EST
Blackberry phones just seemed to become 'cool' for a period. I don't think 'email' was ever the reason.
I remember almost every American TV sitcom and movie would mention the name "Blackberry" instead of "cell phone" in their shows. I'm not sure if that was through paid advertisement or just writers jumping on the bandwagon.
But 'cool' doesn't last long for a product. Remember the Tamagotchi? Boom and bust within a year.
Apple rule the planet. And there is nothing we can do about it.
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Frank Eory
2/5/2013 3:53 PM EST
For every Blackberry owner I ever knew, "email" was precisely the reason they loved it so much. But for ordinary web browsing, it was pretty lame.
And as eewiz points out below, even RIM's traditional preference as the corporate phone is becoming less relevant as more and more companies adopt BYOD policies.
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Cookie Jar
1/31/2013 11:46 AM EST
A relevant piece of trivia: RIM has changed its name to Blackberry. Yesterday's news (Jan 30/13).
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grnewell
1/31/2013 4:07 PM EST
"By 2016, the firm expects that smartphones will account for nearly 75 percent of all smartphones shipped."
I should hope so. I wonder what is shipped for the other 25% of smartphones shipped?
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dutchmam
2/1/2013 5:05 PM EST
Blackberry is still, and will always be the go-to brand for corporations (like aerospace) where security is essential.
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eewiz
2/5/2013 4:37 AM EST
Apple is grabbing those enterprise slots pretty fast. In addition many enterprise adopted BYOD(bring your own device) policy at work. So to say "Blackberry is still, and will always be" is very optimistic.
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Dale Shpak
2/1/2013 7:46 PM EST
The Blackberry OS wasn't written from scratch by RIM.
RIM bought QNX Software Systems because QNX Neutrino is a mature, elegant, and efficient RTOS. I have taught a college RTOS course using QNX for about 10 years. iOS pales by comparison.
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