The true cost of building and supporting new BlackBerry models
Quoting from TiPb:
"Maybe you�ve decided to get an iPhone but you�re still not entirely sold on the $199+ iPhone 4S. Maybe the $99 iPhone 4 or free-on-contract iPhone 3GS seem like cheaper options? Fair enough. That�s why Apple currently has 3 iPhone models on the market, with 3 different levels of specs, and at 3 price points."
I've been suggesting just that for RIM. We don't need Curves or Pearls. We just need to sell last year's Bolds at a discounted price. Apple is doing just that! It gives Apple several benefits:
1. Different entry price points for various consumers!
2. Sufficient devices out there to please teens, young adults, seniors, and demanding users.
3. No additional testing of new OS releases required on a multitude of different devices; of course, you may want to back port new OSs to older platforms (one year old), but this isn't an immediate requirement (RIM isn't doing that anyway). The older devices can still operate on the older OS to start.
4. Less headaches for third party developers trying to sell their hardware & software products to an ever changing selection of new and different devices. Cases and skins can be supported for more than a few months, and with fewer devices to support, software developers have fewer devices to test against and they have a bigger market to sell to.
5. More apps available for everyone to use! In RIM's case, although there are 30,000 apps in App World (and a few others that aren't), only a smaller number of those will run on a 9780 or a 9800 since neither will run BB7.
6. Let's not forget the HUGE R&D cost savings in sticking with a smaller selection of devices PLUS savings on marketing these various devices!
I see the need for the Bold, Torch (slider), and Torch (all-touch) -- please fix this naming to alleviate consumer confusion!!! Since RIM bailed on the Storm name, it will continue to hang over their heads. They could have called the 9850/60 a Storm to repair the damage. Now the Storm will be known as a RIM failure! So now, they've confused buyers and sellers by using the Torch name for a different device. As a result, the 50/60 is not getting the press and praise it deserves!
So, there you have it: the Bold, and the two different Torches (for now)! If you can't get your BlackBerry fix on those, there is something wrong. Do we need to see the Pearls again (who needs SureType?) or a cheaper plastic Bold (AKA Curve)? Perhaps the only other device that has some merit is the Style (although I'm not fond of the name). Clamshells (flip phones) are great for carrying in your pocket as they're more compact, yet you still have a decent sized screen and keyboard. So, there it is: four possible BlackBerry devices. We simply sell each of those for two years with a huge price drop in the second year to fill in at the low price point. This makes way for the newer devices which will sell at current premium prices.
Benefits? RIM sells only premium devices: nothing cheap and demeaning. RIM cannot compete at the low end so they might as well release premium devices only and leverage the good BlackBerry name as a Premium smartphone! You can still pick up last year's premium phone (which will still be an awesome device!) at a huge discount.
Apple's been doing that, and they've been rather successful at it. At first, you could only get last year's phone, now they're giving you last year's phone (iPhone 4) and the previous year's phone (iPhone 3GS). Each phone from Apple is a premium-built phone. No Curves or Pearls.
Sound off! Let's hear your comments.
Blackberry to be the best?
Originally Posted by
Joe257 Quoting from TiPb:
I see the need for the Bold, Torch (slider), and Torch (all-touch) -- please fix this naming to alleviate consumer confusion!!! Since RIM bailed on the Storm name, it will continue to hang over their heads. They could have called the 9850/60 a Storm to repair the damage. Now the Storm will be known as a RIM failure!
RIM knows the Storm is a failure and they wanted to avoid calling the 9850 / 9860 Blackberry phones Storm only because it's a failure.
People already knows that the storm was a failure and they won't buy a "New Storm"
I think that what RIM needs to do is investing more on developing apps and lower the prices of the services. I believe that it will bring many new users to Blackberry.