With just around a month to go before the iPhone 2.0 software hits, does RIM have reason to sweat? Apple pundit extraordinaire and co-creator of the Markdown syntax, John Gruber, thinks they might.
He brings up a pretty big point: once the iPhone gains its enterprise wings, won’t it do just about everything Blackberry users call for? Push email? Check. Remote wipe? Check. Calendar and contact syncing? Double check. Add in the iPhone’s already extensive catalog of features and the sure-to-be-ridiculous number of third party applications coming with the new app store and.. well, let’s just say RIM’s got their work cut out for them.
RIM’s still got at least two cards left: their devices have physical keyboards, and they’ve got a userbase that is simply massive. The first point is an absolute must for some (myself included). But the second? Many enterprise users are only as loyal as their company’s IT guy. It’s time for some innovation, RIM.
PHOTO CREDIT: presta
I have an iPhone and a Blackberry 8800. I would much rather be typing on an iPhone in poor light. The blue backlit keys of the 8800 and the miniscule size of the symbols on the keys makes typing in the dark on the blackberry arduous. Give me the lit keyboard and the big keys of the iPhone any day.
Compare dropping an iPhone vs. a Blackberry… Which device do you think IT wants to support and maintain?
That being said, Apple iPhone could be a major threat to RIM.