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Will Blackberry 10 make RIM a contender again?
Is this the Blackberry 10? Andrew Bocking, senior vice president, Software Product Management at Research In Motion, and his mobile device at a basketball game at Staples Center on November 16, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
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If the Blackberry saga were a movie, it could be "Rocky II." RIM spent years developing the Blackberry 10, and the company's comeback is riding on its success.
"The new Blackberry, the screen is very reactive and it's easy to use," says Phillip Redman, an analyst at Gartner. He's seen the 10 and says it's a lean, mean smart phone machine that rivals the iPhone 5. "It holds its own to any of the smart phones out there."
So does Blackberry has a chance at regaining its title?
Probably not, says Rocky Agrawal, a consultant for reDesign Mobile. He says great hardware isn't enough.
"The problem with mobile is you have an ecosystem problem, you need to have apps," Agarawal says. "That's what people care about."
Blackberry says it has about 70,000 apps. But the iPhone has more than million apps, and Android is catching up.
With the smart phone market expected to hit 2 billion users in 2015, Agrawal says if Blackberry can get a sliver of the market, it will stay in the ring -- it'll just have to compete as a lightweight.
Are you kidding me? I work 12-14 hours a day making money, that's where it's at baby! I couldn't care less about having a smart phone or apps. If someone needs to get a hold of me bad enough, they can break my door down. Had to say that some people have other priorities in life.
