I had a chance yesterday to catch up with an old friend from my Mobitex days; he now works for Cingular on the cellular side of the house. He was showing me his brand-spankin’ new BlackBerry 8700c; it runs on Cingular’s EDGE network. Because it’s an EDGE device the airlink data rate is pretty quick although for regular email that’s generally hidden from the user. For other types of data access, like browsing, it feels downright ’snappy’.
But here’s what I don’t get: how come my friend still carries his RAZR? Why not use the 8700 as his all-in-one device? Isn’t that what RIM intended? Answers: he still carries his RAZR because it’s a better telephone than the BlackBerry, and he sometimes needs only his phone, not his email, calendar and address book. And he’s not alone. Most of the avid BlackBerry users I know (hardly a scientific sample, I realize) carry both a phone and their BlackBerry for exactly these same reasons.
RIM has a well-deserved reputation for making excellent email devices and for operating an excellent service. So why do they make such bad telephones? I continue to argue that it’s because of the tradeoffs required to stuff both a phone and an email device into a reasonably sized handheld. RIM chooses to favor the data functions over the voice functions.
In the end, through, it’s a boon for the carriers.
Why not just use the data-only Mobitex device? I LOVE the RIM 957s that my troops use…
Personally, as a manager, I do not want my people to be able to do anything other than get their email remotely anyway…And we all know thare is NOTHING outh there better than the data-only Mobitex device for that!!! We have enough trouble trying to keep the “PRON” “beat-down” on the desk-tops and laptops of the run-of-the-mill employee… I don’t need Cingular’s latest “offering” invading THAT portion of my charges productivity…. If you know what I mean??? Porn over the cellphone… sheesh!
Dana, I think the move to converged devices is being driven by two different forces. First, at a personal level, more and more people are willing to compromise quality or performance of the device in exchange for the convenience of only having to deal with one. Fewer interfaces to learn, fewer chargers to carry, and fewer bills to sort out (though not necessarily fewer dollars to pay.)
Second, the IT departments of large organizations are driving more and more users to single devices, arguing that the the support loads and maintenance costs are lower.
Frankly, while porn, games and general goofing around can be a management headache on desktops and notebooks, I don’t see porn to be much of a problem on devices with small screens. Maybe things like the video iPod will change that, but I doubt it.
And you certainly don’t expect me to argue with you about the quality of Mobitex devices, do you? My 950’s on my hip at the moment.