The new BlackBerry phone that Research In Motion (RIMM) and AT&T (T) are expected to unveil next week will need more than touch screen functionality and a slide-out keyboard to win back consumers who converted to the iPhone or Android-based devices.
To have any hope of becoming an “iPhone Killer”, as RIM executives are hoping, the company’s upcoming 9800 BlackBerry handset and OS 6.0 operating system must feature more than a universal search bar and better integration with Facebook and Twitter. As RIM has learned painfully over the last three years, when consumers choose smartphones, it is increasingly all about the apps.
Relative to Apple’s (AAPL) App Store and Google’s (GOOG) Android Market, the BlackBerry App World store is an insignificant failure. While BlackBerry devices do offer cumbersome access to known titles such as Facebook, PAC-MAN, and Shazam, their limited availability of approximately 7,000 apps is a deal-breaker for consumers who now expect more from their smartphones.
There are currently more than 225,000 iPhone apps and nearly 75,000 Android apps available. These platforms stimulate creative development where apps are introduced each day that make the smartphones that carry them even more intelligent. Developers creating BlackBerry apps are more likely replicating versions from other platforms to expand market share than they are innovating anything within App World.
Implementing touchscreens and additional hardware bells and whistles is only scratching the surface. As displayed with the lackluster commercial success of the touchscreen Storm and Storm 2 phones, RIM needs to replicate the iPhone and new Android hits (including Motorola’s (MOT) DroidX, HTC (2498.TW) Incredible, and HTC Evo) from the inside out if it intends to remain a relevant player in the smartphone market.
We will find out on Tuesday how seriously RIM takes the app space, and if the 9800 device can even be a nuisance (much less a “killer”) to the iPhone.
