smartphone

Verizon’s Turn for Smartphone Spotlight with BlackBerry Storm Launch

Bernie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:46:56 -0500

While it won’t match iPhone 3G mania, it’s Verizon’s turn for the smartphone launch spotlight with the pending launch of the BlackBerry Storm. AT&T is still riding the iPhone wave and even T-Mobile had their five seconds of smartphone fame with the G1 launch. Now it’s Verizon’s turn. They’ve been prepping the market for the past few weeks with an “anticipatory” marketing campaign. Early reviews have been mixed. The “sure type” feature, where the touch screen gives you a touch or click sensation, looks like it’s going to be a love or hate relationship. There have been leaked stories about shortages at Verizon stores for the November 21st launch . Makes you wonder if that’s all part of the hype machine.

Give Verizon their due. They’ve met the iPhone challenge head on, and really haven’t blinked. If the Storm is a hit, it may help them steal AT&T’s current fire. And it won’t have to match iPhone sales – won’t even have to come close. They’re already just a hair behind AT&T in terms of net new subscriber adds – without a smartphone hit. If the Storm catches any fire, it should put them over the top.

Sprint Dramatically Improves Customer Service

Bernie — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:59:24 -0400

Sprint’s new found focus on customer service is seeing some results. New research from Pali Research reveals dramatic improvement, including Sprint leaping from last to first place in customer care call response times. Sprint answered 91% of the calls into its call center within 30 seconds, improving from 68% in the previous year. The noticeable improvement also leads all their competitors, with Verizon having the closest percentage at 85%. T-Mobile’s rate was slightly less than half of Sprint’s rate, at 45%. AT&T brought up the rear, coming in at 33%. Sprint’s progress went beyond answering the phone quickly. They also are apparently getting better at resolving customer issues on the first call. Here’s hoping they can maintain these customer service numbers, and not just use them as a short term gimmick to slow their dreadful decline is subscriber counts.

Kudos to Sprint for improving customer service, but you have to wonder if it will be enough to slow their subscriber exodus. The iPhone effect is probably hurting Sprint considerably, and T-Mobile’s G1 will soon have its moment in the sun. Adding insult to injury, Verizon will soon be exclusively trotting out the BlackBerry Storm. Sprint’s going to need some smartphone mojo of their own to keep up. Will XOHM be able to pick up the slack?

Cincinnati Bell Wireless Introduces First-Ever Smart Device Family Rate Plan

Bernie — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:18:35 -0400

CINCINNATI - October 13, 2008 - Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB) today announced a new Smart Phone Family Plan, whereby customers can save on additional premium data plans when there are two or more smart-device users in the family. Cincinnati Bell is the first wireless carrier to offer a Family Plan designed to accommodate the growing use of smart devices, like BlackBerry. Read More ...

Verizon Hopes to Rain on iPhone Parade with its Own Storm

Bernie — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:13:24 -0400

Verizon is priming the pump with announcements about the upcoming BlackBerry Storm, their latest attempt to counter the iPhone craze. They have good reason to do so. Some recent research suggests that close to half of AT&T’s new iPhone subscribers in recent months came to them from Verizon Wireless. The Storm is RIM’s first touchscreen BlackBerry smartphone. No firm release date has been announced, but Verizon says the Storm will be out for the holiday season and will be “aggressively priced.” That means somewhere between $150 - $200. The other marquee touchscreen smartphones, including the G1, iPhone, and Instinct are in that range.

Some unique features of the Storm include a tactile touchscreen, compatibility with iTunes, and dual CDMA and GSM modes. The tactile touchscreen gives the user a subtle signal when touched. The dual mode functionality takes aim at probably the iPhone’s biggest weakness right now – being exclusively tethered to AT&T. Although, practically speaking, the Storm will be exclusive to Verizon Wireless for a while. And while the Storm is a smartphone that will appeal to BlackBerry’s entrenched enterprise user base, RIM and Verizon will aggressively target consumers in the hopes of slowing down the iPhone’s momentum with that larger market segment. First quarter 2009 will be an interesting one to watch because it will be the first full quarter for the smartphone competitive battle between Apple/AT&T, Google/T-Mobile, and RIM/Verizon.

BlackBerry Starting to Feel Pain from iPhone?

Bernie — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:46:17 -0400

RIM announced their quarterly results today, and missed estimates for revenue and earnings per share. Wall Street had no sympathy – punishing RIM’s share price with a 20% decline in after hours trading. It’s RIM’s second quarter in a row of missed financial expectations. It begs the question – is this the result of an iPhone effect? RIM dismisses that idea and instead wants to focus on maximizing the “growing smartphone opportunity” rather than worrying about minor financial setbacks or competitive implications of the iPhone. Silicon Alley Insider has the details on RIM’s numbers. It’s not going to get any easier, even with the rosy outlook RIM has on smartphones. You can add T-mobile’s new G1 to the growing smartphone landscape. Sure, there will be significant smartphone growth, but there is also corresponding growth in the number of non-RIM handsets chasing that opportunity. RIM does have some tricks up its sleeve, including the forthcoming BlackBerry Storm, their touchscreen entrant that will launch on Verizon’s network later this year. Stay tuned.

BlackBerry Flips Out

Bernie — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:30:16 -0400

RIM formally introduced its first flip, or clamshell, BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 was formally unveiled at the CTIA I.T. tradeshow, taking place this week in San Francisco. “The quad-band EDGE based BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone presents a sophisticated look with a sleek design and a chrome-finished frame surrounding its smooth, luminescent face. Packed with an abundance of powerful features, it weighs only 3.6 ounces and measures approximately 3.9” x 1.9” x 0.7”,” said RIM in a company statement. The new flip phone has all of the BlackBerry functions smartphone users have come to love, including:

SureType QWERTY keyboard
Bluetooth 2.0
BlackBerry Media Sync
High Speed USB 2.0
Wi-Fi with support for UMA
Compatible with BlackBerry Internet Service, BlackBerry Unite!, BlackBerry Professional Software and BlackBerry Enterprise Server

The phone is scheduled for release this fall. Flip phone designs haven’t really worked too well for the smartphone crowd. But RIM is making an aggressive push into the consumer market, and this new design is aimed squarely there.

New Treo 850 Looks to Take on RIM/Apple

Bernie — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:15:19 -0400

The new Treo 850 or Treo Pro is the slickest looking Treo to date. Engadget has the scoop with photos to boot. From a design point of view, this new Palm is heads and tales better than the tired looking traditional Treo. It resembles the new Blackberry Bold, with traces of an iPhone. Lord knows Palm could use a smartphone hit. They’ve been trampled by RIM and Apple lately. The Treo 850 is believed to be a Windows Mobile device and will offer Wi-Fi and a 400 MHz processor with 100 MB of RAM. I’ve always had a sweet spot for Palm, being one of the first on “my block” with a Treo 600. I traded it up to the Treo 700, but got a little tired of it and moved on to the HTC/Sprint Mogul. Now I’m getting a little tired of that, and this new Treo 850 looks enticing. Let’s hope it’s more than just looks, for my and Palm’s sake.

BlackBerry Shrugs Off iPhone

Bernie — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:27:52 -0400

According to the latest smartphone sales figures, the BlackBerry is holding up just fine against Apple’s iPhone. In fact, in the face of the iPhone onslaught, BlackBerry is actually increasing their smartphone market share. For the first quarter 2008, the BlackBerry garnered 44.5% of smartphone sales, up from 35.1% in the previous quarter. The iPhone was second, with 19.2% of the market, declining from 26.7% from the previous quarter. Palm rounded out the top three, with 13.4% of smartphone sales, an increase from 7.9% in the previous quarter. The details are revealed in this InformationWeek article.

BlackBerry is working to expand its scope beyond just the enterprise to include everyday professional consumers, or “prosumers.” It appears their strategy may be paying off. They are introducing a series of new handsets, including the Bold, that appeal to working professionals. Those professionals may not care if their place of work supports BlackBerry or not. Part of the iPhone’s decline may be attributed to the anticipated release of a 3G version, which is rumored to be launched in mid June. Apple and AT&T are also just beginning an iPhone push into the enterprise market, which is BlackBerry’s historical strength. The real competitive comparison will begin once the iPhone’s 3G version is in play and it gains a foothold in the enterprise space.

Verizon Wireless Launches Smartphone Data Plan

Bernie — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:32:03 -0400

Verizon Wireless announced an unlimited web browsing and email plan for smartphone subscribers. The plan offers access for up to ten separate email addresses and unlimited Internet access. The plan is priced at $29.99/month and available to VZW customers with a qualifying voice plan. Eligible smartphones include the Verizon Wireless SMT5800; the Verizon Wireless XV6800 and the MOTO Q9m. Verizon Wireless BlackBerry subscribers have their own distinct data plans.

Palm Hopes Bite Out of Apple Will Help Them Compete

Bernie — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:37:14 -0400

Palm, one of the early innovators in smartphones through its Treo line, has made some moves lately that it hopes will position itself to compete with the likes of Apple’s iPhone and others. In addition to an infusion of $325 million in cash from private equity, Palm’s board has been joined by two key former Apple executives. Jon Rubinstein, a key force in iPod development at Apple, has joined Palm as executive chairman. Fred Anderson, a former Apple CFO also joins Palm’s board.

Palm needs all the help it can get. With the pending iPhone debut on June 29th and Research in Motion’s phenomenal success with the Blackberry brand, Palm’s Treo will need some ‘magic.’ The Treo line has seen its own success and has a loyal following. But most would agree that the Treo line will need to step it up a couple notches to compete in the future, and quickly. Upgrades to the Treo over the past few cycles have added some useful features, but future development cycles will need to include major design changes and a couple of ‘wow’ moments in order to compete. Stay tuned.

Read this BusinessWeek online post for more insight.