I use to sheath my Blackberry in a protective silicone casing. Nowadays, that skin long shed, I am proud of its chips, its scuffs, even its scratches. I think of them as battle scars from a life lived on the go and on the web. My Blackberry has survived being dropped, punted and thrown around more times than I care to recount — but always with love.
I got my Blackberry last June, finally joining the smartphone world. I opted for the Blackberry over the iPhone because I couldn’t give up the idea of typing. I’ve typed my whole life; my fingers are used to the tactile feedback of buttons and keys. My iPad has enlightened me to a world of swiping, flipping and dragging, but I still love thumbing away on my Blackberry.
Over time, my Blackberry has transformed the way I conduct my personal business. It’s become an on-the-go office and production studio. I can catch up on Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, the news, even my blogs. I’ve drafted blog posts, responded to e-mails, planned my schedule for the week, posted to my mobile photo blog, shot and uploaded video, checked in on Foursquare, you name it. It’s hardy, versatile and, to me, essential.
Increasingly, though, it is feeling obsolete. And no matter how much abuse I heap upon it, it may be its own worst enemy, in the end.
It’s an iPhone and Android world nowadays, and much has been made of Blackberry’s relative absence from the fast-paced revolution currently taking place in the mobile phone space (though they’re apparently developing a competitor to the iPad).
The Blackberry still has its evangelists, of course, whether it’s via a post on Workshifting, which reveals the Blackberry as the authoring tool of choice for a successful author and a flashy rapper, or the paparazzi snapping a pic of Kim Kardashian BBMing away. (Don’t laugh — for many, BBM is an essential communications channel, and RIM is beginning to capitalize on this with its marketing.) Major apps like Evernote are still supporting and enhancing their Blackberry versions. Three of Consumer Reports‘ five recommended smartphones for “office-like tasks” are Blackberries.
For years, Blackberry has thrived in its niche market — the busy person on the go who needs 24/7 access to e-mail. But on so many fronts — especially app availability, usability and web browsing — Blackberry is falling behind, and I am afraid that I will have no choice but to switch camps.
Why? Two main reasons:
- Critical Mass/Relevance. In my line of work, as much as my Blackberry helps me do my work, I feel like I need to be familiar with the industry standards. And while Blackberry was the pioneer and standard bearer of smartphones for so many years, it hasn’t done much lately to retain that title.
- Innovation. For me, the apps are the kicker. I can’t help but be jealous when I see my friends playing with — er, professionally evaluating — cool apps like SCVNGR, and I can’t join in because there’s no Blackberry version. I don’t blame SCVNGR, really. They’re a business. They’re going to go where their customers are and where the functionality is advanced — and the Blackberry market has not been one of growth in either area.
RIM is banking a lot on OS version 6.0, which debuted with the recent release of the Blackberry Torch (reportedly with significant enhancements to the UI and browsing experience), but it remains to be seen whether that will vault Blackberry back into relevance, or merely tide us RIM devotees over until the end of our contracts, when we might be tempted to jump ship.
I don’t want that day to come. I don’t want a fragile iPhone 4, and while Android phones are indeed drool-worthy, I’m on a family plan and might be locked into AT&T for the foreseeable future (plus, AT&T’s Android options predictably suck). But I don’t want to be left behind either.
I love my Blackberry. It’s been dependable and nigh invincible, given how brutally I treat it, and that hardiness has bred some severe loyalty. I’d like to see another smartphone survive being spiked into the sidewalk or drop-kicked across my office. Plus, I still love my keyboard.
Come on, RIM. If you’re really Research In Motion, let’s get moving in the right direction. There’s got to be a middle ground somewhere.
