There has been talk that the iPhone would hurt Research in
Motion for some time now, but it certainly does not appear to be the case right
now. These phones are, in some way,
going after two different kinds of users.
However, they look like they are setup to cross paths in the near future
and in RIMM's case actually are competing for the same customer base that the
iPhone is going for.
The iPhone, as it stands, is a great phone for the
individual user who will be on the Internet quite a bit and wants a cool
looking phone. It truly is a fun phone
to play around with and the great touch design on the face makes it a little
different than your average cell phone. I
have messed around with the iPhone but have not purchased one. I have little doubt this phone will be a big
seller for Apple in the near future.
The Research in Motion phones, Blackberry (also known as
Crackberry), is also a great phone but at least in the not so distant past was
really designed for business executives.
They have become a little more main stream when they came out with the Pearl and Curve. These phones are great for the individual
users and can certainly be used by business executives for their everyday
needs. I personally have the Curve and
can surely see how the name Crackberry came about. I am not sure how I was able to function as a
human being without this device.
The decision I made between buying an iPhone vs. the Curve
was a simpler one back when I made my decision.
At the time, I was picking between the Curve and iPhone the pricing
difference was $300 between the two. As
much as a loved the iPhone and all of its great features, the extra three bills
was just too much to pay for that phone.
The price has come down since my decision was made but I have to tell
you I love my Blackberry and would find it hard to part with it. It is just too bad I do not find it necessary
to have two phones.
The question is will these two companies step on each
other's toes? It is my humble opinion that
both cannot only co-exist, but they can both thrive going after the same users. I think Research in Motion is much closer to
making one transition from business phones to "fun" phone and really have
already done that. Apple still has the
problem that most companies use Microsoft operating systems and probably will
be for some time, but they are eating away at this problem. The demand for emails and internet connection
access via the cell phone is growing rapidly and certainly, these two companies
are at the top of the list when it comes to picking a new cell phone.
These two will be competing for the same customers but there
is more than enough room in this growing market to make both companies very
happy. I would be ecstatic to have
either Apple or Research in Motion in my portfolio, and own both, for not only
the near term but the long term as well.