RIM Faces an Uphill Battle in U.S. Smartphone Market (NewsFactor)

Research In Motion unveiled five new smartphones Wednesday powered by RIM's refreshed BlackBerry 7 operating system. Though AT&T and Sprint Nextel have slated the latest BlackBerry handsets for launch later this year, reversing RIM's U.S. smartphone market slide won't be easy.

The good news for RIM is that the BlackBerry 7 OS has achieved a measure of parity with Google's Android and Apple's iOS through the addition of an all-touch user interface. What's more, the company's new BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Bold sport speedier one-gigahertz Snapdragon processors, graphics processing chips, and a new "liquid graphics" software upgrade that "optimizes the graphics and provides instant response times, fluid animations, and smoother rendering," a RIM spokesperson explained Wednesday.

The range of new BlackBerrys is a positive, evolutionary step forward for RIM, but it doesn't revolutionize the vendor's portfolio, noted Strategy Analytics Director Neil Mawston. "RIM still needs a 'wow' flagship model like the Samsung Galaxy S2 or Apple iPhone 4 that will help the RIM brand to truly stand apart on crowded store shelves," he explained Thursday.

Software Improvements

The BlackBerry 7 OS integrates a faster WebKit-based browser capable of delivering results up to 40 percent faster than BlackBerry 6 handsets, the company reported. The new HTML5-capable browser also has optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation.

Pre-loaded software offerings include the premium edition of Documents To Go, a native PDF document viewer, and BlackBerry Protect, which enables handset users to back up and secure their personal data in the cloud. What's more, RIM's latest release of Blackberry Messenger (BBM) extends the real-time social-networking capabilities of the latest BlackBerry releases.

For example, BBM is now capable of functioning in tandem with other social-networking applications such as a new BlackBerry for Facebook offering as well as a Social Feeds app that provides a consolidated view of social-networking updates from a variety of media sources. The BlackBerry Balance technology RIM unleashed last May will also let users employ the new BlackBerry Torch and Bold models in their work and personal lives without compromising an IT department's need for advanced security and controls, the company said.

An Uphill Battle

One of RIM's long-standing strengths has been its presence in the enterprise due to its BlackBerry Server capabilities. However, RIM faces an uphill battle in regaining its former stature -- especially in the U.S.

A recent survey of more than 2,000 mobile-app developers asked which platform is best positioned to win in the enterprise. The respondents were evenly divided between iOS and Android at 44 percent each, according to Appcelerator and IDC. Many respondents also said they believe Apple and Google have succeeded in accelerating their mobile leads over RIM by redefining mobile-app engagement, loyalty and cloud connectivity.

Apple in particular has been highly successful in introducing its iPhone and iPad into the enterprise space during the past few quarters. Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer told investors last month that 91 percent of the Fortune 500 had either deployed or were testing the iPhone, and 86 percent had either deployed or were testing Apple's iPad.

Only four percent of the respondents thought RIM's BlackBerry platform was best positioned to win in the enterprise. Even worse, RIM ranked behind Microsoft's fledgling Windows Phone 7 platform, which was tapped by seven percent of the survey's respondents.

The relatively modest number of mobile apps at BlackBerry App World is another barrier that RIM's new Blackberry 7 handsets must overcome. Though RIM is poised to introduce an Android Reader for its QNX-based PlayBook tablet, no comparable offering is expected for BlackBerry smartphones this year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20110804/bs_nf/79656

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