[touchofshade]

It is common knowledge that Blackberries are for 'business people' and have older users. I haven't found any research or references to back up these stereotypes and claims. Does anyone know of any studies, research, or analytics of Blackberry user demographics?

[GlenB]

I think it is a common "perception" that BBs are for business and older people, but I also think that the trend is towards younger different demographics taking up the device, especially with the trend towards IM, social networking apps etc.

I'm not aware of any study data though.

[codestream]

There's no hard data, but keep in mind lots of BlackBerrys are given to company employees, which use them just like regular people. The Storm is mostly a consumer device too.

[flop]

Also bare in mind that RIM seeks higher running costs and long term contracts. These are demands that both simplify business accounts and exclude most teens. Other smartphones can be paired with similar high-end business plans, or alternative entry-level plans.

To compete in the entry-level market, RIM would need to restructure the cost and deployment of BIS. For example, BIS accounts would need to be more dynamic and transferable before teens would show interest, partly because teens are exposed to a higher risk of loss and damage to their phones. Put another way, teens are pressured to avoid contracts.

At the end of the day, demographics do not reflect the phone's features. Instead, they reflect the features that are viable in a social setting. This mostly revolves around money and payment options. Even university research students tend to avoid BlackBerry. In terms of securing long-term customer loyalty, BlackBerry has either fallen flat on its face or performed a sly calculation that I had initially overlooked.

Consider SONY, which hits children with branding, and then sells their loyal children overpriced video games when they hit 30. In contrast, at the level of consumers, there appears to be no long term marketing strategy behind RIM's moves because actual BIS prospects represent a small cross-section of middle-class society. However, I suggest that RIM is more interested in brutally locking-in large corporate buyers using BES, and those future buyers might be the current day teens who gawk at Storm 2 adverts but wouldn't actually buy one. Consequently, I tentatively suggest that the whole BIS data plan is a self-funded marketing ruse designed to win future BES sales.

Developers can address RIM's immediate shortcomings. For example, writing software for WAP, APN or TCP/IP will appeal to a wider demographic because it sidesteps the social constraints posed by BIS. However, more time is needed addressing the low-level message paths because RIM try to intercept application messages and launch their users back into the BIS scheme of things.

There is no hard data, but you can confirm my account by visiting your local blue-chip quarter*, university, and high school respectively.

[MarcPandora]

I was just at a session this morning at BB dev conference and Mike Kirkup said that the breakdown between BES/BIS users is about 50/50, with the percentage of BIS users steadily growing. So it looks like RIM is definitely growing out of it's old business stereotype into a more of a consumer device.

[GlenB]

Some interesting and valid points Flop. I think your statement "teens are pressured to avoid contracts" is perhaps why BIS is now available on PAYG in the UK at �5 per month, which includes the data usage, making social networking and IM applications much more accessible to that market. Clearly the original target market of corporate users has shifted with the advent of BIS and now its availability on PAYG. We are seeing a shift in marketing too, moving from the corporate world to more mainstream publications and even TV.

[flop]

Thank you, and I may have over-thought my post

I am aware of the Orange deal. I think the BIS is an additional �5 GBP month on top of something else, and I do not know the rest of the details. The same offer might be a response to the prevalence of second hand BlackBerry phones on ebay. Generally speaking, contracts combine poorly with second hand phones simply because contracts typically come bundled with a free new phone

Also, TV adverts during prime time are used specifically to assist teens in blackmailing their parents!

[flop]

I would like to add another observation.

This observation assumes that mobile phones are comparable to desktop computers and cars. Specifically, each new model offers greater capacities or lower retail costs, when compared to the previous model. In macroeconomics, the added value of products with those characteristics is calculated differently to other products. My emphasis is only that BlackBerry and Ford share the same category when calculating real and nominal GDP.

I will now turn my observation to a hypothetical market. Imagine that cars are all as we know them, except Ford, which have a special Ford usage license called FRS (Ford Road Service). The FRS is the same for all Ford owners, meaning that second hand buyers and business leasers pay the same FRS cost.

In this hypothetical market, I wonder what influence the FRS would have on new and second hand sales respectively? I suggest the FRS is less noticeable when the car is new and leased. Furthermore, how much would FRS influence the resale value of a Ford car?

[GlenB]

Hi Flop - Is your hypothetical statement because of the �5 cost? While this is necessary to connect to BIS, it is also to cover data usage. If you take any other "smart" phone, if you want to make use of all the applications that are attractive to the younger market, then you need IM and social networking, which require data which comes either at a fixed cost with a usage cap, or pay as you use data, the latter invariably working out far more expensive.

[flop]

Please note that I did not initially mention Orange's unique offer as the company has little influence on global demographics. However, I have taken the time to check and provide some points that expand on the Orange offer.

• Orange +�5 BIS offer when used on a phone will generally equate to �10/month on the Dolphin (social networking) plan.
• Orange Pay As You Go BIS offer has a fair usage policy of 50Mb per month.
• Orange Dolphin + BIS offer is very specific and can incur additional charges for generic data (Opera, Google Maps, Aloqa?).
• 02 provides unlimited data for generic smartphones at a similar sum cost of �10/month.

Comparison of O2 Text with Web Bolt-On, and Orange Dolphin with BIS:

• O2 �10 less �7.50 credit: 300 free texts + unlimited generic data + �2.50 talk credit (no PIN or blackberry.net email)
• Orange �10 less �5 credit: 300 free texts + constrained generic data + BIS + �5 talk credit (hidden cost for some apps)

As such, there is a BIS offer that is roughly in-line with generic data offers though the real cost is potentially higher due to hidden costs. Over time, the unrealistic but theoretical best cost is �5/month from both companies. Never the less, my emphasis is that the pay as you go BIS possibility is constrained to the UK.

On the issue of global demographics, many BES users have BIS as well. Consequently, the 50/50 split reported by RIM and MarcPandora is ambiguous to me and potentially misleading.