The Real Smartphone fight is between Android and Apple
Well, I am now in Singapore and observed that there are a lot of people using some form of smartphone, mainly Apple iPhones.
As I was thinking, the real competition for Apple seems to be Android and not Blackberry. Although Blackberry market is shrinking (data coming from North America), it seems to be that they will end up in a special niche market but will continue expanding in developing countries. Blackberry will continue to do well in the near future in developing countries where SMS usage is King. Now, BBM is there to replace traditional SMS.
Apple on the other hand need to worry more about Android. A lot of Apple apps are also available on Android so for a consumer standpoint, the decision to get an Apple or Android comes down to the hardware. Android phone seems to be getting better and better, the OS interface is also getting better and better.
So I say, let Apple and Android fight in North America, while Blackberry will try to spread their wings in developing country, creating this super loyal BBM fans and lock them with BBM.
- Charles