RIM Bold is coming, smartphone war is on
David Johnson August 15th, 2008
Cory posted earlier on the iPhone’s success an implications in the local marketplace. Resarch in Motion is firing back in the smartphone wars. The Blackberry 9000, called “The Bold,” is already for sale in some international markets and is expected to be in the U.S. market within a month. The Bold offers screen resolution that rivals the iPhone, but has a smaller screen to accommodate the keyboard. As the battle has waged so far, there is that feature-based consumer debate — touchscreen vs. real keys. But the covert war in corporate IT is where the Blackberry has gained all the ground. While the iPhone has the user experience, the Blackberry has the backend and security needed for big business. the 3G iPhone now offers Microsoft Exchange connectivity, and the RIM Bold is betting on a better screen to help improve user experience and help it hold onto the majority of the market. No matter what, mobile is the hot territory now and will be for a good while.
5 Comments Add your own
1. Marc Rullo | August 15th, 2008 at 6:26 am
RIM can not compete with the likes of Apple in the areas of design, marketing, operating system, device integration, vision, etc. This war was over before it started. Steve, I would like my Apple Newton now please. With a triple play like a Mac laptop, iPhone and a Newton-type device, corporations will be standing in long lines outside of Cupertino headquaters to get onboard.
2. Amanda E. | August 15th, 2008 at 10:18 am
The iPhone won’t gain any traction in the corporate IT world. Period.
The iPhone is too much of a “toy” rather than a work device and Apple refuses to have its mail client play nice with Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange.
3. Amanda E. | August 15th, 2008 at 10:22 am
A further update to my comment above.
Exchange users love the global address book, calendar and free/busy system.
Apple mail doesn’t connect to either of these services. Instead it uses an IMAP/HTTP hack to talk to the server. And no, I’m not talking out of my rear end - I’ve spent way to many hours in the past cobbling together access to Exchange for the Apple fanboys at my old workplace.
4. Anonymous | August 15th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Amanda is all to right…this is a whizbang gadget meant to sell 1,000,002 to folks who like the name “Twitter” because they haven’t got enough to do or actually anything to enjoy.
Cities are there to see. So is the road. If you want to do busines get a business device. Being instanlty connected to Upper Slobodia in stereo in the stall is pathetic.
5. Jason | August 15th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
My workplace won’t allow us to connect iPhones, so I’m excited about the Bold.
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