[louzer]

I just got back from dinner with a couple of friends. When one of them saw my Blackberry, he asked why I was still using it. I said that I use it and like it because it does what I need it to do... yada yada yada...

But what are you going to do once they are out of business he asks. I reply that while things look rough, they are far from out of business. He responds by saying that he heard on the news that Blackberry is dead and will be going out of business. I explained that sometimes the news reports on rumors of rumors and that it shouldn't be believed. To that he responded that from everything that he hears, Blackberrys are dead. His wife has a Blackberry that she loves, but he's convincing her to get an iPhone so that she doesn't get stuck with an phone that's unsupported because the company has gone out of business.

The point here is that we (us in these tech forums) represent only a small percent of smartphone users. Most people out there don't read Crackberry, Android Central, iMore, WP Central, BGR, Engadget, The Verge, etc... Most people generally go to a cell phone store when their contract is up or their current phone breaks. Most people don't know that Blackberry just concluded Blackberry World. Most people don't know that there was just a big Galaxy SIII party in the UK. Most people don't know that an iPhone 5 could be coming with a 4" screen and new design. All they know is what they're told by cell phone store reps and, more importantly, what they're told by friends whose opinions they trust about which is a good phone (who get their information in bite-sized chunks from news outlets).

Most smartphones are not purchased based on a lot of research and comparison. It is usually based on best price and perceived value at the time, or by what other people seem to be happy with.

We've got a bit of a wait ahead of us until the BB10 phones drop. But each day that passes is a day when some people's contracts are up and they don't want to wait. I'm thrilled by what I saw from the BB World keynote and what's come out of the BB Jam. The problem is that some news outlets are acting impressed but most are still declaring RIM as dead. I'm hoping for RIM to hit one out of the park with the new BB10 devices. but like the saying goes, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a noise?". I'm frustrated by the notion that RIM has finally gotten their act together, but because of all of the negative press, there won't be the proper perception when this thing hits.

RIM needs to get that new CMO and get him/her/(it) quick! The glimpse of what we just saw this week was awesome. But no matter how good it is, if the right perception is not in place, it won't matter. They've shown their technical ability this past week. Now it's time for some guerilla marketing to shape the perception.

[kittencounter]

You made the point and I hope you see the point too. People don't read tech blogs and tech forums everyday, how would they know what is what. What is best for us is not best for them. How do we know that they want to be productive? From what I can see around me is that people actually like to kill time by checking their phones, navigate randomly through UI, delete notifications and spam mails...etc.(I'm serious) As for RIM...they can't do marketing as long as they don't really have something new to show. By that I mean new end-products for people out there. Even when they finish BB10 phones, then they still are for the 5% "BB-people" out there, not the 95%.

[louzer]

You made the point and I hope you see the point too. People don't read tech blogs and tech forums everyday, how would they know what is what. What is best for us is not best for them. How do we know that they want to be productive? From what I can see around me is that people actually like to kill time by checking their phones, navigate randomly through UI, delete notifications and spam mails...etc.(I'm serious) As for RIM...they can't do marketing as long as they don't really have something new to show. By that I mean new end-products for people out there. Even when they finish BB10 phones, then they still are for the 5% "BB-people" out there, not the 95%.

If RIM is for the "BB-people" and the BB-People" have dropped to 5%, then RIM has to either set an expectation that their target is a small 5% niche, or they have to figure a way for BB10 to entice that large percentage of the 95% that hopped on the BB bandwagon about 3 years ago and then off last year. If that's the case, BB has to figure out how to market to "BB-people" and 14-22 year olds who used to BBM and now iMessage.

[calicocat2010]

I say you Show those friends of yours links to BB Jam and then Maybe he'll rethink his opinion on RIM "going out of business".

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[SK122387]

I have had a lot of similar conversations, where people just think BlackBerry is going out of business. I always kind of feel stupid for saying, "well at the end of the year, they're launching their new phones that do a lot more," because it sounds like I'm in denial about RIM and making excuses. It's hard to explain to someone how incredible BB10 looks, and I usually don't waste my time, if it's just a casual conversation.

I showed a coworker/friend who uses the original Evo. She isn't eligible for an upgrade on Sprint until August, and was planning on getting the new Evo One........UNTIL I showed her a few of the BlackBerry World video clips, which are PERFECTLY cut down to show off the keyboard and video and email stuff. I geek out about little things about BlackBerry, but for the first time that I can remember, a non BlackBerry user's jaw dropped when she saw how cool BB10 looks. It was that smile you get when you're so impressed and can't stop smiling. She's now planning on holding off to check out the first BlackBerry 10 device, provided that it is full touchscreen (she loved the Alpha Dev device).

I really think BlackBerry is going to "wow" a lot of people. Shoot, my 9900 is still wowing people that didn't know that BlackBerry made touchscreen/full qwerty combination devices.