iPhone v BlackBerry - clash of the killers?
Everyone is trying to build an iPhone-killer or BlackBerry-killer, but Adam Turner wonders if the two uber-devices threaten each other.
Now the iPhone has gained a few business-friendly features, some people are already implying that the iPhone 2.0 is a BlackBerry-killer. I think iPhone fans need to cut back on the Kool-Aid and take a reality check.
I don't think non-BlackBerry users appreciate how embedded BlackBerry is in corporate culture and IT departments. Sure the iPhone might look good and be easy to use. Sure the new iPhone has picked up Exchange support. So have lots of other mobile devices. That doesn't mean Mordac the Preventer of Information Services is going to throw open the gates and let any touchy-feely device onto his precious corporate network (Dilbert reference, 10 points).
Most companies ONLY support BlackBerry for corporate push email. End of discussion. Arguing the point is like asking why you can't have Linux on your corporate desktop instead of Windows. You can argue with your IT team until you're blue in the face, but it's a fight you're unlikely to win.
The argument here isn't whether the iPhone is better or worse than the BlackBerry in a corporate environment. They argument is whether the IT gatekeepers will yield to the latest barbarian at the gate. The iPhone might be fashionable right now, but corporate IT departments aren't renowned for being dedicated followers of fashion, in any sense of the word.
I've always admired BlackBerry for managing to move with the times when so many other vendors have fallen. Take Palm for example, it's already dead - it just doesn't know it yet.
Anyway, the BlackBerry began as a glorified pager but evolved and thus survived the rise of the smartphone. Now the Canadian giant is doing a pretty good job of surviving the drive for work/life balance - introducing some lifestyle features while not biting the corporate hand that feeds it.
Look at Nokia, it dominates the global phone market but it's still struggling to shake off the consumer tag. Now Finland's greatest export has ditched support for BlackBerry Connect on the new E71. Nokia jumped on the BlackBerry bandwagon to gain traction with corporate users, but I question whether it's ready to wean itself off CrackBerry just yet.
I wonder what kind of response you'd get to a BlackBerry Connect client for the iPhone. I think BlackBerry's Canadian masters at RIM might go for it, but I couldn't see Apple going for it - Cupertino loves to own the customer as much as anyone.
Once the iPhone is opened up to third-party apps, RIM might not need Jobs' papal blessing to target the iPhone. A true iBerry could make things interesting.
Meanwhile the iPhone poses little short-term threat to BlackBerry's corporate dominance. You can argue with me all you want, but I'm not the one you need to convince. The iPhone won't threaten the BlackBerry until Mordac says it does. Good luck.
What do you think? Have your say by posting your comment below.
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