Loyal BlackBerry users may increasingly find it hard to stay hip. These smartphones were once considered as savvy, elegant accessory; a sign that you are a serious businessperson. But, this doesn’t apply anymore. Many consumers now consider BlackBerry devices as objects of shame. They habitually hide the BlackBerry handset in their pocket to avoid scornful looks from iPhone and Android users.
While loyal users can still argue that BlackBerry allows them to send e-mail and text messages easily, it’s fair to say that if they want to install the hottest apps and find the nearest gas station, they may silently wish for an Android smartphone or an iPhone. BlackBerry users feel absolutely helpless as they watch people do all those fantastic things on their non-BlackBerry smartphones. It increasingly looks like a tragedy as mobile users are more dependent to mobile apps. Like Nokia, RIM was overly too confident with their achievements when the iPhone and Android first arrived. While Nokia has learnt its mistake, RIM’s recent strategy still fails to tackle new threats in the industry.
