From today's (5/22/12) Yahoo Finance page. This long article never mentioned a Blackberry at all. RIM must re-grab cognitive awareness of the smartphone followers if they are to remain relevant outside of captive markets where their security is required.
By 24/7 Wall St.
There are already nine million worldwide preorders for the Galaxy S III, Samsung's soon-to-be-launched flagship smartphone. The number is incredible when compared to Apple's 4 million iPhone 4S units sold in the first weekend it was on sale last year. The Samsung phone, considered by some analysts to be an iPhone killer, will go on sale in the U.K. this month and in the U.S. before the end of summer.
Until a few months ago, it was widely assumed that Apple's share of the smartphone market would be so large for so long that no single formidable competitor would arise. Google's Android operating system made it relatively easy for handset companies to adapt and build their own smartphone software. But the market for Android handsets was crowded and included several of the world's largest smartphone manufacturers--HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung. The large number of competitors with strong balance sheets or large parent companies meant there was a good chance the Android market would be permanently fragmented.
I think we are about to see a shift in the marketplace. So many iPhone users I know that have stuck with it from the start are starting to feel bored with the iPhone. The more recent converts though love it to death. If the 6 is a big change then I believe they will have no trouble keeping the faithful and eating up marketshare, but without a serious change people will start to look elsewhere.
That Samsung line of phones now has the telcoms pushing it over anyone else and they could be the big winners as they have a modern image of durability, innovation and performance. I don't really see the other Android players making a big move though as their products just don't seem to hold up to use like Samsung phones do.
I think the market is trying to ignore RIM or act like all the media misinformation is correct but I have a feeling its going to be hard to ignore them once BB10 comes out. I don't expect huge initial sales off BB10 but the longer its around the more people will realise how superior it is.
