RIM led the first generation of smart phones with its killer app - emails. It catered to the business users and nailed the sales channel (i.e the enterprise). However, the killer app on smart-phones have changed. It is no more the email. It is social apps. The buyer has changed. It is the consumer now. As the 2-year contracts some to an end for many of the US buyers, I am sure many are eager to switch. Will RIM get its mojo back?
It will be an uphill battle. For one, the target market has changed. The buyer power is shifting from the enterprise to the consumer. Even the top brass at the Fortune 1000 use iPhone and Android smart phones. iPhone is cool. Android is powerful. One is Mercedes. The other is BMW.
The buying decision has changed. Previously it was to check emails. That was the killer app. Now it is the APP itself - i.e. the app stores. Having access to a plethora of apps makes the device a rich, productive, all-purpose device.
For the developer community it is hard to adopt to the RIM's developer framework. Apple and Google's competitive advantage is its platform and the ability to attract the developer network.
What has been RIM's strength is now its weakness. If they can make a comeback (i.e. retain their market share) it would surely be an interesting case study.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
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