By Aldo Panessidi
In retrospect, 2011 was a huge year for the wireless industry. With a giant falling at the same time that global mobile connections surpassed 6 billion, and worldwide smartphone penetration approaching 10%… all in a world with 7 billion people . The availability of connected devices within the market place has fueled a meteoric rise in usage across all ages… with, smartphone penetration in the United States topping 44%. The accessories market has also seen skyrocketing growth in stride with the surge in mobile device usage. Consumer’s are not taking any risk with their expensive devices preferring to protect them from scratches and blemishes in innovative designer inspired bags, sleeves and protective cases. Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside these brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.
The smartphone’s rapid growth and continued market expansion can be attributed to two leading platforms Adroid and iOS while other operating system platforms continue to struggle to maintain onto their meager share of the market.
While Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS is heralded as a breath of fresh air… sales and consumer interest continue to be disappointing. Alas! What can we say of our beleaguered and fallen giant … RIM; once the pearl of the mobile industry; now with the failure of the PlayBook tablet and the BlackBerry OS, which was once the most desirable mobile experience continues to be continues to be plagued with security issues. Enhance your mobility… turn your device into a power tool. Discover the select accessories, such as, stylus & pens, data cables, batteries, SD micro cards, desktop chargers, earpieces & headsets as well as glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.
The onset of 2011 looked very promising for RIM…. which unveiled a number of next-generation devices; including the 9300 Curve, 9900 Touch, 9930 Bold Touch and the highly anticipated BlackBerry Dakota. RIM was also hard at work on it first tablet offering – the BlackBerry Playbook. RIM offered a number of options to developers with the ability to support Android based application for it first QNX-based device. Brilliant move right…. it would give RIM access to Google’s massive Android ecosystem and provide PlayBook users with a huge catalog of apps available upon launch. Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan… and for Rim, boy did this turn out to be a snafu!
The Playbook launched in April amidst challenges and controversy. Due in part to the pressing need to have a tablet on the market… the PlayBook debut was marred by the lack of native support for email, contacts, calendar or even the highly-regarded chat client that put BlackBerry devices on the map – the BlackBerry Messenger. Furthermore, the tablet launched without support for Android applications and the current catalog of lackluster apps remain a huge problem for RIM to this day. Let the latest in trend setting fashionable accessories express your unique style! Experience an extensive array of award-wining design protective cases and skins that deliver modern style, stunning design and smart protection. Make your mobile devices stand out. Customize your look – how cool can you be?
To compound matters even further, despite RIM’s best efforts it was only ready to announce one device at the BlackBerry World conference in late April – the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 and while it was a device BlackBerry users had been clamoring for, it also came to market more than a year later than it should have with an operating system and user interface that was stale at best.
Worse was yet to come as internal stirrings set off seismic quakes after pent up unrest among RIM’s own employees finally reached its boiling point. At the breaking point and completely exasperated a high-level RIM executive published an open letter in an effort to get his message across to RIM’s top ss. In its response to the open letter, RIM indicated that while it was addressing several issues, the company was “thankfully in a solid business and financial position to tackle the opportunities ahead.” Despite, cheery forecast by RIM’s top management , company would go on to disappoint with its second and third-quarter earnings, and its fourth-quarter guidance suggested that relief would not come soon. Discover XMI Speaker’s uncompromised sound quality and a revolutionary design accentuating today’s interactive lifestyle. Earpieces and headsets combine sophisticated style and precision engineering that deliver brilliant sound for your total listening pleasure.
Today, RIM remains between a rock and a hard place. In the midst of continually weakening sales, the first PlayBook update is scheduled for February 2012; providing native email support and other PIM functionality, BBM is still proving to be a challenge and will not be part this ‘fix’. Even more disturbing is the fact that the first RIM smartphone to run on the new BlackBerry 10 OS – the BlackBerry London – will be delayed until delayed until late 2012. Discover an extensive selection of the latest lithium technology replacement cell phone and wireless devices batteries. Ensure your device is powered by brand name batteries for longer operating life.
Of major concern is the latest controversy brewing at RIM… inside sources at RIM have indicated to BGR that Mike Lizaridis was lying when he said that the company’s new lineup was delayed due to the setback get LTE chips. In fact BGR claims it was told that RIM is simply pushing this out as long as they can for one reason, they don’t have a working product yet.” According to BGR, their source communicated something shocking for a high-level RIM employee to say. He told BGR that RIM is betting its business on a platform and ecosystem that isn’t even as good as iPhone OS 1.0 or Android 2.0. “There’s no room for a fourth ecosystem,” he stated, “and DingleBerry also works on BlackBerry 10.” Get powered up for work, life and play easily and conveniently with a collection of desktop chargers , wall chargers and car chargers. Get all the power and energy you need for the mobile lifestyle.
There is no question that RIM has the talent to succeed in the modern smartphone market. It also has a user base that continues to grow with each quarter. The vendor has a lot of catching up to do, however, and it once it finally does launch its first BlackBerry 10 phone, it had better be a blockbuster with a massive marketing budget to back up its launch. In the meantime, RIM has a tough six-plus months ahead.
