I have been on the record since before the iPhone was announced that it would compete with the BlackBerry much more than many people think it will and today Needham analysts John Lynch and Charlie Wolf “assert that the introduction of the Apple iPhone clouds the prospects for Research in Motion’s first phone targeted at the consumer market, the Blackberry Pearl.”
In plain english this means that guys looking at the mobile phone industry at Needam feel that the iPhone will give consumer oriented BlackBerry devices some real competition. Needless to say, Needham has lowered it’s rating on RIM (RIMM) from Buy down to Hold.
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There is so much room for growth in the consumer market that both RIM and Apple will realize success.
I do agree with their conclusion that before the iPhone, one could make the argument that the Pearl and the upcoming 88xx/89xx variants were going to be the superior smartphones in the consumer space. Now after the iPhone, that isn’t so clear, esp. if you’re looking for strong multimedia features.
Let’s face it…when it comes to multimedia, the iPhone will be unmatched.