BlackBerrys Will Get Touchscreens To Fight iPhone 4
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is reportedly turning to touchscreens to counter Apple's new iPhone 4. RIM is still the smartphone market leader, but Apple's iPhone and Android-based devices are moving up fast. RIM is also reportedly working on a tablet computer that could be released by the end of the year. RIM is behind in mobile apps.
Marshalling its forces to respond to the iPhone threat, Canadian smartphone giant Research In Motion is reportedly gearing up to release new devices that feature touchscreens, which Apple's iPhone has, and a slide-out keyboard, which it doesn't.
On Top, But Slipping
RIM remains the smartphone market leader, with a fairly comfortable 35 percent share as of the first quarter, only two percent less than the prior quarter, according to the latest study from Nielsen. But Apple is breathing down RIM's neck with 28 percent, having gained two percent, the same increase as Google's Android-based devices, now at nine percent of the market.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs cited those statistics in unveiling the new iPhone 4 at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference last week.
"RIM should be paranoid about losing out to Apple," says Gerry Purdy, principal analyst at MobilTrax. "They need to step up to the plate and offer a lot more than they have to date."
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that RIM is working on an iPhone-like device that allows users to move through different applications by swiping fingers on the touchscreen. The device also has a universal search bar that accesses both the Internet and the phone Relevant Products/Services's memory for data Relevant Products/Services, unnamed sources said.
RIM is also working on a tablet device to be released by the end of the year, said the Journal, which would utilize smartphone connections to get online Relevant Products/Services.
RIM spokespeople declined to comment for the report, which they attributed to rumor and speculation. Company executives unveiled the latest operating system Relevant Products/Services, BlackBerry 6.0, at an investor conference Relevant Products/Services in April and have said a new device running that OS and a new browser will be available at the end of the third quarter.
The BlackBerry Storm is currently RIM's only device to feature a touchscreen.
Trailing in App Market
How well consumers respond to the new device depends on how RIM integrates the lessons of Apple's phenomenal success, analysts say. The iPhone 4, which goes on sale June 24, has generated a tremendous response for pre-orders around the world. Android-based devices like Verizon Relevant Products/Services Wireless' Motorola Droid and Sprint Nextel's HTC EVO have also proven formidable.
"It's a combination of iPhone and Android-based popularity," said J.D. Power and Associates wireless Relevant Products/Services analyst Kirk Parsons. "Better user experience and much more apps are the key differentiators right now, so RIM will need to match or exceed the UI experience relative to web-based applications."
Apple is ahead of the game in available applications, at 225,000 and counting, while Google's Android Market has about 30,000. RIM's roster lags at about 7,000.
The Journal's sources said the new BlackBerry device will have four gigabytes of available storage Relevant Products/Services space, or a quarter the capacity of Apple's lowest-priced iPhone 4. The camera would match Apple's five megapixels, although the iPhone 4 has front and back cameras to allow video Relevant Products/Services chatting as well as photography.
Marshalling its forces to respond to the iPhone threat, Canadian smartphone giant Research In Motion is reportedly gearing up to release new devices that feature touchscreens, which Apple's iPhone has, and a slide-out keyboard, which it doesn't.
On Top, But Slipping
RIM remains the smartphone market leader, with a fairly comfortable 35 percent share as of the first quarter, only two percent less than the prior quarter, according to the latest study from Nielsen. But Apple is breathing down RIM's neck with 28 percent, having gained two percent, the same increase as Google's Android-based devices, now at nine percent of the market.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs cited those statistics in unveiling the new iPhone 4 at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference last week.
"RIM should be paranoid about losing out to Apple," says Gerry Purdy, principal analyst at MobilTrax. "They need to step up to the plate and offer a lot more than they have to date."
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that RIM is working on an iPhone-like device that allows users to move through different applications by swiping fingers on the touchscreen. The device also has a universal search bar that accesses both the Internet and the phone Relevant Products/Services's memory for data Relevant Products/Services, unnamed sources said.
RIM is also working on a tablet device to be released by the end of the year, said the Journal, which would utilize smartphone connections to get online Relevant Products/Services.
RIM spokespeople declined to comment for the report, which they attributed to rumor and speculation. Company executives unveiled the latest operating system Relevant Products/Services, BlackBerry 6.0, at an investor conference Relevant Products/Services in April and have said a new device running that OS and a new browser will be available at the end of the third quarter.
The BlackBerry Storm is currently RIM's only device to feature a touchscreen.
Trailing in App Market
How well consumers respond to the new device depends on how RIM integrates the lessons of Apple's phenomenal success, analysts say. The iPhone 4, which goes on sale June 24, has generated a tremendous response for pre-orders around the world. Android-based devices like Verizon Relevant Products/Services Wireless' Motorola Droid and Sprint Nextel's HTC EVO have also proven formidable.
"It's a combination of iPhone and Android-based popularity," said J.D. Power and Associates wireless Relevant Products/Services analyst Kirk Parsons. "Better user experience and much more apps are the key differentiators right now, so RIM will need to match or exceed the UI experience relative to web-based applications."
Apple is ahead of the game in available applications, at 225,000 and counting, while Google's Android Market has about 30,000. RIM's roster lags at about 7,000.
The Journal's sources said the new BlackBerry device will have four gigabytes of available storage Relevant Products/Services space, or a quarter the capacity of Apple's lowest-priced iPhone 4. The camera would match Apple's five megapixels, although the iPhone 4 has front and back cameras to allow video Relevant Products/Services chatting as well as photography.
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