BlackBerry Burnout

With fresh rumors about a Verizon iPhone aswirl and Google’s Android phones pervading the mobile realm, RIM, the one-time star of the Smartphone space, faces mounting pressure to redefine itself or risk being extinguished. This shouldn’t, however, come as a shock as all the signs have been present for some time. On one side, there’s Apple making their way into consumers’ pockets and purses at rates not seen since the adoption rates of the original iPod. Apple has seemingly had an easy time attracting consumers who sought to own the iPhone mainly for its cool apps, and stands to increase its appeal as it considers building a CDMA-version of the device that can run on Verizon’s network. To be exact, though, Apple’s act of war came a couple of years ago when it licensed Microsoft’s synchronization technology, ActiveSync. At the time, a major obstacle to widespread adoption of the iPhone was that it lacked the ability to properly sync one’s company email and calendar, specifically Outlook and Exchange. Apple sought to woo corporate users who longed for a device with all of the functionality, intuitiveness, and must-have appeal of an iPhone. Soon after licensing this technology, the iPhone’s support for push email came and the exodus off of competing platforms ensued. Predictably, companies like Kraft and Oracle began supplying their employees with iPhones instead of BlackBerry devices as they had done in the past. For employees with iPhones for personal use, Kraft has even developed a Web page that provides support for the company’s Exchange servers.

On the other side are Google Android OS-based phones. Much like the iPhone, Android devices combine a user-friendly operating system with a robust app market. Google’s approach, however, appears to be “Android everywhere,” driving to embed their powerful and highly-touted OS in as many different devices as it can. Motorola alone plans to release 20-30 Android-powered devices this year. This plan is proving to be successful as Google is outpacing all other competitors in percent change in marketshare.

With Apple flirting with a possible deployment of a CDMA version of its iPhone, iPhone owners currently with AT&T, subscribers with competing Smartphones, and those with standard feature phones will all likely consider making the switch to Apple’s newest offering on Verizon’s venerable and ubiquitous network. I know I am.

Whether or not Apple decides to make a phone that works on CDMA networks is still uncertain. One thing is for sure, however: As more and more Crackberry owners wean themselves from the device for which they were once fiends, RIM will have to find new ways to keep current customers and attract new ones, or this once-dominant player runs the risk of being eclipsed.