Possible BlackBerry Strategy?
Looking at the new BBOS 10 Phones, I wonder if Blackberry has formulated a new miltiprong buisness strategy.
I have the general thought that the smarter the phones get, the dumber the users get, at least in the U.S. Ok so this is a very general statement which paints the mobile phone community with a very broad brush,and is greatly exagerated, but please, hear me out. The majority of U.S. phone consumers buy a phone primarily as a status symbol: They buy the most expensive device that the manufactures say that they need and that everyone else wants. They also want a portable jukebox, camera, video game system, movie player, internet browser, GPS navigator, etc., with a phone added in, without any thought to privacy or security. They want a phone that requires almost no thought to learn and operate, � la Microsoft's increasing effort to simplify Windows, while making it harder to actually customize and optimize a PC OS. This is why the large phones, which are approaching the footprint of a netbook, have become so popular. I believe that this is why the Z series BlackBerrys came about.
Many of the diehard Blackberry users prefer an actual keyboard. This accounts fot the Q series. Hopefully the Q20 and even a Q30 will be released for those of us who want to benefit from a solid BlackBerry device, the latest BlackBerry innnovation, and have a keyboard.
Maintaing both the Z and Q series of phones, with the Android app capability, should satiate the BlackBerry appitites of the U. S. and developed world, as well as attract new users and hopefully bring back some former users.
The release of the Q5 in the developing world appears to be a great move for BlackBerry to gain a foothold in under served regions and is likely to foster BlackBerry loyalty as the economies develope.
Regaining focus on the Enterprise market is also a smart move to at least maintain BlackBerry's remaining enterprise clients.
By maintainging the security integrity of its devices, such as the FIPS certification, I am sure that BlackBerrys will remain the prefered mobile devices approved by governments. (When I was in the US Air Force, we were strongly encouraged, if not out right required, to have a BlackBerry, if we chose to have a mobile phone.)
My assessment is that by diversifying its products, refocusing on enterprise services, and following a multiprong buisness approach, BlackBerry will restablish its place as a global mobile device power.
Any thoughts?