Blackberry, a unique niche, when will marketing figure it out?

I have owned Blackberries for many years. I switched to the iPhone 1 when it first came out and went back to a Blackberry 9650 (Verizon). I loved the 9650.

In the last few months, I became completely disgusted at paying $45 ($30 data fee + $15 xtra to access BES ) to access corporate email while iPhone and Droid customers only pay $30 or less. I complained about this to Verizon repeatedly.

I turned off the Blackberry and bought a cheap phone with keyboard and ditched mobile email altogether (to see if I can survive without it). I am surviving on standard texting, but I miss my Blackberry and want it back. RIM and the carriers have made it very uneconomical to own one.

I really really want a 9930. It looks like an awesome phone. If it had more memory + 4G + Hotspot, I would say it was the ultimate phone. I have searched all over and none of the local stores stock it (Verizon, Best Buy, Radio Shack etc. . . in Phoenix, AZ metro area -- America's 5th largest city).

In my view, RIM doesn't need to make major changes. They need a new marketing paradigm.

1. Blackberries fall short as computers compared to iPhone or Droids (lack of apps, lack of memory, lack of screen space, lack of processing power etc. . . ). But, Blackberries are the ultimate communication device. Its all about the KEYBOARD! Couple that with some awesome voice recognition and Blackberries have a long term marketing niche regardless of software improvements. 95% of my phone use is for texting and email. I use the web only occasionally to look something up quickly or for GPS services.

2. Plans should be competitive. Blackberries use less data. Why are we forced to pay more to use them? The plans are very outmoded.

Market the traditional Blackberry boxes as something between (on the affordability scale) the cheaper basic phones and the higher end iPhone and Droids. That is a recipe for success.

Originally Posted by St. Alban

1. Blackberries fall short as computers compared to iPhone or Droids (lack of apps, lack of memory, lack of screen space, lack of processing power etc. . . ). But, Blackberries are the ultimate communication device. Its all about the KEYBOARD! Couple that with some awesome voice recognition and Blackberries have a long term marketing niche regardless of software improvements. 95% of my phone use is for texting and email. I use the web only occasionally to look something up quickly or for GPS services.

I agree with this. The problem however is that the majority of the market seems to have decided that a great computing platform with decent communication is preferable to a decent computing platform with great communication. I don't think RIM can reverse this trend. They should accept it and move on, which is what they seem to be doing with BB10.

Verizon is more expensive across the board. I'm on Tmobile and get 2GB of data and unlimited calls and texts, and have insurance, and my part of the bill is around $100. I think Tmobile has the BlackBerry data plan for $30 a month, but mine is $20 because I've had it for years.

Tmobile offers the mobile hotshot add on for $15 a month, but tethering to a laptop might use up more than my 2GB a month, so if I were to do that, I'd upgrade to a 5GB plan or something.

I do think BlackBerry marketing needs to be improved, but it sounds like your issues with hour BlackBerry situation could be resolved by going to another carrier...and a bigger memory card. I have a 2GB memory card but have never filled it up or run out of memory on my 9900.

Originally Posted by SK122387

Verizon is more expensive across the board. I'm on Tmobile and get 2GB of data and unlimited calls and texts, and have insurance, and my part of the bill is around $100. I think Tmobile has the BlackBerry data plan for $30 a month, but mine is $20 because I've had it for years.

Tmobile offers the mobile hotshot add on for $15 a month, but tethering to a laptop might use up more than my 2GB a month, so if I were to do that, I'd upgrade to a 5GB plan or something.

I do think BlackBerry marketing needs to be improved, but it sounds like your issues with hour BlackBerry situation could be resolved by going to another carrier...and a bigger memory card. I have a 2GB memory card but have never filled it up or run out of memory on my 9900.

Technically, your plan is unlimited (if you're grandfathered into the $20 plan there also shouldn't be a data cap at all, mine wasn't capped on the $20 plan).

If you hit the 2gb you get throttled, but again, as you're grandfathered into the $20 plan there shouldn't be caps or throttling.

you seriously need to stop blaming marketing...it is tiresome to read the same whine in thread after thread...nothing to which you (validly) address is the fault of RIM marketing.

1. The market dynamics have changed. The driving force in smartphone sales is infotainment and connectivity, not communications. Current BB simply cannot compete, and no marketing effort can fake a 4.3" screen.

2. You correctly identify that the BB is the best communications platform, but it does not justify a price premium over a smartphone plan. Carriers essentially do not currently give a rats that BBs are more efficient..so the cost of BIS ia passed to the customer.

3. I have analysed my usage.. and the screen size drives that usage.. so tbh, i used then my 9330, 9650 and now my 9930 as a feature phone... email, directions, maps, navigation, weather, local search & directions, social feeds, MMS, movie times and the ilk.. trivial amounts of pandora, (youtube and movies are pointless), and any web activity is emergency use only.. So my usage has typically averaged 25MB or so and peaks around 100MB with extensive navigation on trips. I therefore agree 100% on the cost issue...

4. In order to be succcessful, a device and its plan must combine to to provide compelling competitive advantage... So as a smartphone with equal or higher pricing than Android/IOS the small screened current BB are a total fail in the market (nobody yell at me, i bought one).. however, as a premium feature phone, along with the much lower data plan costs (typicallly $10-$15) and a 100MB-250MB cap, the BB would both take the feature phone crown, and help convert many dumphone users into feature phones..given the suite of apps stated far exceed normal feature phones.

5. Competition in the true smartphone space will need to be left to the upcoming BB10 devices..that can compete on more equal footing to what people seem to want.

So, IMO, this has nothign to do with RIM, they have nothing worth marketing until BB10 phones (and so in interim need to focus on Brand image, not products) its the carriers.

Carriers are typically greedy and unimaginative, after all, they are not their to serve the customers, but themselves.. However it doesnt take much imagination to see how carrier revenue can increase with such a positioning.. Perhaps Sprint may make a move, after all, like them or not, they were the carrier that from inception continues to upset the status quo on pricing policies..

Originally Posted by St. Alban

I have owned Blackberries for many years. I switched to the iPhone 1 when it first came out and went back to a Blackberry 9650 (Verizon). I loved the 9650.

In the last few months, I became completely disgusted at paying $45 ($30 data fee + $15 xtra to access BES ) to access corporate email while iPhone and Droid customers only pay $30 or less. I complained about this to Verizon repeatedly.

I turned off the Blackberry and bought a cheap phone with keyboard and ditched mobile email altogether (to see if I can survive without it). I am surviving on standard texting, but I miss my Blackberry and want it back. RIM and the carriers have made it very uneconomical to own one.

I really really want a 9930. It looks like an awesome phone. If it had more memory + 4G + Hotspot, I would say it was the ultimate phone. I have searched all over and none of the local stores stock it (Verizon, Best Buy, Radio Shack etc. . . in Phoenix, AZ metro area -- America's 5th largest city).

In my view, RIM doesn't need to make major changes. They need a new marketing paradigm.

1. Blackberries fall short as computers compared to iPhone or Droids (lack of apps, lack of memory, lack of screen space, lack of processing power etc. . . ). But, Blackberries are the ultimate communication device. Its all about the KEYBOARD! Couple that with some awesome voice recognition and Blackberries have a long term marketing niche regardless of software improvements. 95% of my phone use is for texting and email. I use the web only occasionally to look something up quickly or for GPS services.

2. Plans should be competitive. Blackberries use less data. Why are we forced to pay more to use them? The plans are very outmoded.

Market the traditional Blackberry boxes as something between (on the affordability scale) the cheaper basic phones and the higher end iPhone and Droids. That is a recipe for success.