Research in Motion is one of the clear losers from the domination by iOS and Android of the smartphone marketplace.
Research in Motion is one of the clear losers from the domination by iOS and Android of the smartphone marketplace. While Nokia had the absolute lead in terms of the mobile phone mass market, RIM’s BlackBerry platform was the dominant enterprise smartphone. However, times have clearly changed.
Unlike Nokia, which has cast away its own mobile operating system, RIM has soldiered on with its BlackBerry OS, and is on track to release the 10th version of the software. One of the key changes that it will introduce to this update is a new unified contact information displaythat reminds of an existing feature from Android and Windows Phone.
Being the enterprise-focused OS that it is, BB10 aims to add more professional functionality to the contact details that will be pulled up. The more pedestrian Twitter, Facebook and other social networking streams will be combined with information on future meetings, and the latest email messages, among others.
The BB10 contact management application team is run by T.A. McCann, who was the former CEO of Gist, the developer of a CRM app that had similar functionality.
Even with such a new feature, RIM is facing a stiff challenge from other mobile operating systems. The explosive growth in the popularity of iOS and Android has forced plenty of companies to allow bring-your-own-device schemes to accommodate personal smartphones.
As such, it not only has to convince the IT departments of companies to make BlackBerry an option, but it has to reach out to individuals, who may not accept a less-usable experience from the smartphones they currently own.