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RIM in consumer content and services push
Territories covered
Western Europe
Austria,
Belgium,
Denmark,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Ireland,
Italy,
Netherlands,
Portugal,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
UK,
Central and Eastern Europe
Hungary,
Poland,
North America
Canada,
USA,
Asia-Pacific
China,
India,
Japan,
South Korea,
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Published:
24-Sep-08
Along with its first flip handset (Pearl 8220), the Blackberry maker has unveiled a series of content and service partnerships in an effort to boost its consumer appeal. Dubbed 'lifestyle' apps, they include: - MySpace (due globally in October): users will have access to a customized application allowing for instant messaging, status updates, photo management together with a community page on MySpace for easy access to phone personalisation content (wallpapers, skins, ringtones). MySpace is a NewsCorp subsidiary.
- MapQuest: the AOL-owned service has launched the latest version of its 'MapQuest 4 Mobile' application that features interface improvements along with hybrid imagery, traffic and incident information as well as a GPS "find me" feature.
- Tivo (due later this year): the popular DVR service will be accessible via the Blackberry handset initially to manage and schedule recordings. Mobile access to recordings is also part of the service roadmap.
- Ticketmaster (due by the end of the year): US, Canadian and UK BlackBerry users will be offered the opportunity to browse, search, and purchase tickets to concerts and events, along with a customized alert service for music and sporting events.
- Slacker radio: web personalised music streaming service has announced a free exclusive personal radio application that will offer radio listening and include synchronisation features to allow for offline listening to up to 1,000 tracks.
- Microsoft Live search (due later this year): RIM will use Microsoft's search technology as the default search engine for Blackberry devices. The service will be integrated in Blackbery maps and provide location-relevant results. Google announced its updated version of the free Blackberry application earlier this month which includes Google Apps, Mail, Maps and News support.
Our take...
Social network applications are very popular and among the main drivers for mobile data usage. The Facebook application for Blackberry launched a year ago and has been downloaded 2.5 million times, the fastest uptake of any Blackberry application.
On top of the social networking push, RIM is clearly trying to reach out to a broader target market than the initial corporate niche to which it catered. In order to grow and face the competitive pressure from Nokia and Apple, RIM needs to position itself as a valid option for the general public.
The Microsoft deal is perhaps more important for Microsoft than it is for Blackberry, since it buys Microsoft's Search a spot in a coveted, high usage target market in time to compete with Google's mobile push on Android handsets.
Screen Digest estimates RIM will outsell Windows Mobile phones in cumulative 2008 smartphones sales and claim second place behind the market leader Symbian (Nokia) whose growth shows signs of weakness.
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Analyst intelligence & notices
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