Originally Posted by
Omnitech You could have just stopped at the "looks nice" part. Seriously.
This is the mass market. Almost all people under the age of 50 own a smartphone in developed countries. Style and fashion are important. I happen to think it is a fabulous looking device.
However that's not all. See below.
This is definitely one potential advantage. Another, as I mentioned earlier, is that the device apparently stands on its side by itself. How many smartphones have you seen that can do that?
So first of all, you have a uniqueness factor. Second of all, it is said that the VAST majority of data consumed on mobile networks today is from streaming video. Guess what people do when they watch a video? They hold or stand the device on the side with the help of some kind of special case. What if you could just set the bare phone down on a table and watch videos?
Don't discount the appeal of something just as simple as that.
Remember, we are talking about the mass market here. "Cool and New" is half the battle when it comes to mass-market electronic devices. :)
It's a pity that historically, BlackBerry has been utterly ignorant of what it takes to design and market to the mass market smartphone user. In the past, they basically were riding on momentum from their business users. Apple served notice that that era was over when they introduced the iPhone in 2007.