For the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) market, Research in Motion Limited’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry is still the smartphone of choice.
For the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) market, Research in Motion Limited’s (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry is still the smartphone of choice. RIM’s signature handset may have seen better days for most markets, but for what it’s worth, it is still favored by many high-powered executives around the world.
This may change soon, if Samsung releases an Enterprise Edition Galaxy S3 next month.
According to sources, Samsung will release a Galaxy S3 with Samsung Approved for Enterprise (SAFE) branding. Such a phone would include support for Mobile Device Management (MDM) systems like Cisco or Juniper, AES-256 encryption and improvements on the device’s Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync.
All these features would be best implemented for BYOD programs, allowing users to distinguish between personal and business use of the handset. The Enterprise-branded Galaxy S3 will be offered by several carriers – AT&T Inc. (NASDAQ:T), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NASDAQ:S), Verizon Wireless (NASDAQ:VZ) and United States Cellular Corporation (NASDAQ:USM).
This could mean even more trouble for RIM, whose BlackBerry once again sold below analysts’ expectations. Fourth quarter 2011 sales of BlackBerry phones totaled just 11.1 million, a shade below the 11.2 million predicted and 21 percent less than Q3 2011 sales.
However, RIM officials remain optimistic about the company’s future. BlackBerry security Senior VP Scott Totzke told Bloomberg last April that RIM’s market share may actually be increasing due to a reduced employee base and improved federal business numbers.