[hispanola]

It's apparent that BB can't compete with the juggernauts of Samsung and Apple on the consumer level. It's market lead in developing nations due to low end BB7 handsets will eventually succumb to the dozens of low end Android phone makers. What should BB do? Go high end! BB has always been a niche product. It was a way to get always on secure mobile email in the corporate environment. Eventually it became a status symbol and an early leader in the smart phone race as consumers discovered it was a great communication device (especially due to BBM). But times have changed. For BB to live on and once again succeed it needs to get back to it's niche. It must be the high end premium device that is the only choice for the corporate environment.

There are two key phrases in that previous sentence. 1) "High End Premium Device" is something one would not associate with BB, nor should they. Unless we are talking about the Porsche model BB phones have always been low end/middle of the road phones (low end plastic materials and low end specs). That needs to change. In most industries there is a high end market. Surprisingly the smart phone industry does not have that. Most mid-tier top selling devices sell for $199 on contract and hardly differentiate between themselves on the hardware side (save for design). If you look at the high end price category of $299 you will see just a handful of devices (Nokia 1020, Droid Razor MAXX HD, iPhone 5 32gb). Perhaps save for the Nokia, you can say that each phone in this segment just has extra capacity (battery, memory) offered at an extremely high markup. Many are clamoring for a phone made of premium material (all metal/glass), with high storage/memory as a default (32gb+), large capacity all day battery (3000mAh+), high end camera (20mp +), etc. Unintentionally, Canonical is attempting to release such a phone with the Ubuntu Edge (Ubuntu Edge). This market segment is in it's infancy as it has yet to really be created. This is the perfect time for BB to do what Canonical will probably fail to do and establish itself as the market leader. The throngs of fanboys who consistently dread BB, will be silent and are likely to desire and purchase such phones from BB. Premium handsets from a premium maker. And to further push that premium feel they need retail stores like the one in Dubai (The new BlackBerry Retail Store is now officially open in Dubai) in affluent upper class locations. 2) Enterprise. BB's bread and butter is being challenged due to BYOD and consumers lack of wanting a BB. Just as BB once provided a sought after feature for business, it must do so again. This time with true mobile computing (BB Mobile Computing). This is the next feature that will entrench BB in the enterprise sector for years to come. And the employees would actually want a BB.

[qbnkelt]

Very interesting.

One drawback, sealed battery.

[monil11]

It could work in theory. But they have a few challenges before they get there.

1. Image - no other company in the tech world has an image that worse than BlackBerry's. The name commands no/very little respect today. They need to completely change their brand image before they can think about positioning their brand as a premium one.

2. Expertise - as you mentioned BlackBerry was never known as premium brand because of the choices they have made in terms of hardware. I'd imagine they have little idea about being a premium brand.

3. They wouldnt be the 1st - look for high end premium handsets and you'll see quite a few have already tried their hand at this. None has been particularly successful. The only company I can think of who has made premium phones long enough is Vertu. What will BlackBerry do different to ensure their success?

In my opinion they have their niche in corporates and government agencies. They have been doing it so far and they know how to serve this niche well. With complete focus on this niche I'm sure they can create enough value for their product to capture this it completely.

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[djenkins6]

There are a bunch of $5000 and up phones. http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/23/wir...0523phone.html

Elizabeth Woyke, Forbes Staff
5/23/2008 @ 6:00PM
The World's Most Expensive Cellphones

There is no cellphone more anticipated this year than the next generation of the Apple iPhone. But for some high rollers, the ultimate iPhone is a diamond-encrusted version from London jeweler Amosu. At 20,000 pounds ($39,600), the creation ranks among the world?s most expensive phones.

Even a $40,000 iPhone seems tame compared with the 8800 Arte from Austrian designer Peter Aloisson. The luxury Nokia phone is posh to begin with, featuring designer ringtones and wallpapers and an 18-karat white gold finish. Encased in more than 680 pink and white brilliant-cut diamonds?sparing only the screen and slide-out keyboard?the embellished phone is a marvel. And, at 85,000 euros ($134,000), it?s also the price of a college education.

These super high-end cellphones are a fascinating anomaly within the cellphone industry. While handset makers like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola churn out millions of $40 phones for developing markets such as China, Russia and India (see ?Cellphones Your Wallet Will Love?), smaller firms like Amosu and Peter Aloisson focus on serving a much smaller population at the other end of the market.

It?s a trend that shows no signs of halting. Fashion firms and automakers continue to show interest on the designer side. Last week, Christian Dior unveiled a $5,000 phone that resembles a sleek cosmetic compact. Watchmaker Tag Heuer is coming out with a $6,000 phone with a crocodile leather back. Porsche and Lamborghini have phones. Ferrari collaborated with Vertu, a U.K.-based luxury phone manufacturer owned by Nokia, on a special-edition phone last year.

Luxury firms say the steady march of cellphones across the globe is further expanding the market by popularizing the notion of luxury phones. ?Mobile phones are becoming more and more an object of desire for people,? says Alberto Torres, president of Vertu.

So what does a multi-thousand-dollar phone have that a $100 or $200 phone lacks? In the case of Vertu, whose phones range from $4,000 to $300,000, the difference begins with materials. Its handsets are crafted using scratch-proof sapphire glass screens, titanium frames, ruby bearings (for minimal wear and tear), fine leather and, in some models, gold and platinum.

Design inspirations are similarly highbrow. The brand?s ?Signature? line features details from jewelry and watchmaking. Its ?Ascent? line is based on luxury automobiles and incorporates carbon fiber and rubber. (Torres uses a red Ascent handset.) Vertu?s newest phones, the ?Constellation? line, are meant to evoke images of classical aviation.

Then there is the painstaking construction. Though Vertu phones incorporate Nokia technology, they are developed and manufactured separately. Some models have more than 500 mechanical pieces, all assembled by hand in Europe. Torres compares the process to that of other luxury goods, such as cars, watches and handbags.

The phones are manufactured with longevity in mind, both in terms of tough construction and classic design. Vertu tests some phones by running a car over them. The goal, says Torres, is to make the phones functional for 20 years, even if users are likely to swap phones long before then.

The combination has attracted high-profile fans, such as former Ferrari Chief Executive Jean Todt, Beyonc, Gwyneth Paltrow, Catherine Deneuve and Michelle Yeoh. Strikingly, most of these people shelled out money for their Vertu handsets. ?We are very careful about gifting phones,? says Torres. ?We think it?s more important that people buy into the brand and have a commitment to it.?

According to luxury phone firms, plenty of people can afford to buy their wares. Vertu had triple-digit growth in 2006 and 2007 and is now in expansion mode, opening more stand-alone boutiques, including its first U.S. shops, in the Wynn Las Vegas and Plaza (New York) hotels. Despite a slowing economy, Torres says, the U.S. is the brand?s fastest-growing market.

He thinks luxury phones will eventually ring up billions in sales. But some luxury analysts say upscale cellphones and other electronic gadgets will never be as popular as designer watches, handbags and cars. The rapid pace of innovation in cellphone technology means phones don?t appreciate in value the way a Rolex does, notes Pamela Danziger, a luxury marketing expert. And phones, which most people carry everywhere, but rarely secure to their bodies, can be easily lost or misplaced, making them risky investments, she adds.

?It is a very, very limited market,? says Danziger.

The two exceptions, she says, are young men, who are increasingly forgoing luxury watches in favor of using cellphones to tell time, a habit that could make them more receptive to spending thousands on a phone. The other: wealthy people she calls ?exfluents? (or ?extreme affluents?), who ?go for the best of the best in everything they purchase.?

In the end, as with any extremely expensive accessory, buying a $10,000 phone isn?t about logic. Torres compares luxury phones to vintage Ferraris. ?They might not last forever or have the latest technology, but they?re beautiful things to drive."

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[CHIP72]

Best case scenario for Blackberry to become a niche device is for the company to scale down dramatically, strengthen its core products, and then gradually scale back up by providing something new and genuinely innovative (i.e. preferably creating a new niche that does not currently exist).

[hispanola]

Very interesting.

One drawback, sealed battery.

Not a drawback at all. Most smartphones (especially the best sellers) have a sealed battery. It's especially not an issue if the battery lasts all day.

[hispanola]

It could work in theory. But they have a few challenges before they get there.

1. Image - no other company in the tech world has an image that worse than BlackBerry's. The name commands no/very little respect today. They need to completely change their brand image before they can think about positioning their brand as a premium one.

That image is bad in the US, but not so bad in other places around the world.

2. Expertise - as you mentioned BlackBerry was never known as premium brand because of the choices they have made in terms of hardware. I'd imagine they have little idea about being a premium brand.

3. They wouldnt be the 1st - look for high end premium handsets and you'll see quite a few have already tried their hand at this. None has been particularly successful. The only company I can think of who has made premium phones long enough is Vertu. What will BlackBerry do different to ensure their success?

I think you guys are a bit confused. There are premium brands like BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, then there are elite brands like Lotus, Maserrati, Aston Martin, etc. BB can go premium, not elite.

In my opinion they have their niche in corporates and government agencies. They have been doing it so far and they know how to serve this niche well. With complete focus on this niche I'm sure they can create enough value for their product to capture this it completely.

Posted via CB10