I just took a look at Verizon sales metrics from ITG Investment Research analyst Matthew Goodman, and, to make a long story short, the numbers aren’t pretty for Research in Motion and the BlackBerry on the nation’s largest network. BlackBerry sales dropped 45 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of this year, and Goodman sees them trending down 49 percent YOY in the fourth.
80 percent of smartphone sales at Verizon in November were Android devices (46 percent of those were Droids). Which is astonishing for two reasons. 1.) That’s a huge percentage for a relatively new mobile OS in a very competitive market. 2.) In December of 2008, RIM was touting the BlackBerry as Verizon’s best-selling device. In two years, it’s gone from a flagship to a johnboat.
[Via AllThingsD]
As others have said, this is the beginning of RIM’s “death spiral”. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This is playing out just as it did for Palm.
Quite a few things not happening to RIM at the present like Palm. We aren’t hearing RIM trying to sell any parts of itself. They are actually acquiring. Not to mention we already know what will be the next OS and the fact there is a great design team being put to work via acquisition. Doesn’t mean they won’t flounder, but no headstone yet.
Model after model of look a like devices, staying with an old dated OS and waiting too long to develop a new one, wasting time with a netbook/tablet when that time should have been spent on the old/outdated phone OS. Sure sounds like Palm to me.
It’s obvious to me that this is because RIM hasn’t released a single new device on Verizon in months. The last new device was the Bold 9650, which was almost the identical twin of the Tour 9630, so that makes it hard for the consumer to see that there has been a new BlackBerry released in over a year. By contrast, there are new Android devices coming out almost weekly, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for RIM. My opinion is that there is soon going to be slew of disenfranchised consumers when their shiny new Android devices are perceived to be obsolete within a VERY short time of purchase. When Verizon moves on to the next big Android device and all but abandons the one they just came with out, it suddenly makes it difficult for consumers to find cases, covers, know whether or not it’s update-able, etc. RIM needs to come out with something new on Verizon (and soon), but I don’t think it’s so much a death spiral for RIM as it is fickle consumers being swayed by the shiny new toys that Verizon is pumping out as fast as they can.
Are you serious? Got news for you, most average user never update their device while they own it. What people do know is what works better for them. When they get their shinny new BB and realize that all it is really good for it text, they become disenchanted and move on to more modern technology.
Are YOU serious? All BlackBerry is good for is text? You lose any credibility with that statement. Let’s be honest, there are things that Android does better than BlackBerry, but there are things that BlackBerry does better than any other smartphone (battery life and e-mail spring to mind). I’ve updated my Facebook and Twitter, synced my Google Calendar, read & replied to e-mail from 5 different addresses, listened to some podcasts, and played a couple of games today on my BlackBerry. Oh, and sent some texts… yeah.
No, most average users don’t update their phones, but they do know when they plunk down their hard-earned money for the Droid – advertised as being the “next big thing” iPhone killer – only to have it supplanted by the Droid 2 and Droid X less than a year later. These users sign 2 year contracts, so they’re stuck with a phone that they consider obsolete for 12 months or more. How do I know? Because I have several friends who were ticked to see their precious Droids rendered “old” by the Droid 2/X, but they’re stuck with it. And it’s not going to be any different with any of the other “latest/greatest” Android phones that are being pushed to market too soon.
And RIM wasting their resources on a tablet? Yeah, that didn’t work out well for Apple at all, did it? Oh, wait…
Again, the reason sales of BlackBerry devices are down on Verizon is because RIM hasn’t released a really new device in over a year. Yes, they need to get something out on Verizon quickly, or the numbers are going to continue to decline, but I’m sure the numbers don’t look nearly as dire on AT&T, where they’ve gotten both the Pearl and the Torch in recent months. To spin this into a Palm death spiral is just “the sky is falling” alarmism.
Unless you are using BES, email sucks on BB and both the iphone and Android beat it with full Exchange support through Activesync. The browser sucks on the BB and what small improvement they made on OS 6 won’t even be available on CDMA till who knows when. The applications look like DOS. And don’t even compare Apple to RIM. Steve Jobs is a brillant marketer, while RIM has been struggling to decide who they want to market to, the consumer, or business. If I had to pick out of RIM, Apple and Google who would be the most successful, RIM would be dead last.
you should change your name to i hate blackberries because i’m a jack ass
Rim *share* of total verizon sales is down, that means RIM is selling less phones (but definitely not 45% less) AND verizon is selling A LOT more smartphones. The smartphone pie is getting bigger and will be for years to come so RIMs demise is far from certain
OS 6.O Touch Screen on Verizon where are you? I got a Droid X because of they scraped the Storm 2 Refresh with OS 6. A BlackBerry without their WebKit Browser can’t be considered a smartphone at this point (in my opinion). Oct 28th 2011 is RIM’s 2nd change with me. Will they deliver something new by then? I sure hope so!
I will say this. Droid X is total crap for exchange email, calendar and contacts. It’s almost garbage. So I miss the BB for the personal productivity. I don’t miss it for the terrible browser, and the terrible TCP/IP, and the bad multi-tasking ability (got the spinning cursor way tooo much, I am sure QNX will fix that).