BGR: RIM's Q3 results beat expectations:

Just after the North American markets closed this Thursday, RIM announced its Q3 earnings. While many analysts believed that RIM would have a hard time meeting its adjusted earnings forcast, RIM actually exceeded them, but just barely. In this day and age, exceeding a forecast is nothing short of a coup, even if by a fraction of a percentage point. RIM’s revenue came in at $2.78 billion, up 7.9% from Q2, while net income totaled $396.5 million (adjusted net income stood at $477.3 million). Earnings were $0.83 per share diluted, which beat expectations by $0.01. As for Q4, RIM is expecting strong sales which strangely enough is thanks in part to previous delays for the Bold and Storm. Because both devices were released at the tail end of Q3, it is expected that the high demand for them will help RIM weather what has been predicted by some to be one of the worst holiday retail seasons in recent history.

No matter how you cut it, RIM has an incredibly strong foothold with BlackBerry. If you look around in just about any public place, chances are you'll see BlackBerries more than anything else. RIM's consumer campaign lacks the sexiness and shine of Apple's push into mobile phones, but it's there, across several models and wireless providers. RIM's lead over the iPhone isn't to be taken for granted, but for now, good on RIM -- they pulled off a good quarter in the middle of horrible macroeconomic times. I think the Bold will do well for 2009, but I have my doubts about the Storm. I realize that software updates are out there that improve the experience, but all they do is fix bugs that shouldn't have shipped in the first place. On the flip side of this rivalry, I fully expect Apple to do well with its post-holiday numbers as well. In the ultimate analysis, I stand by my original opinion: the iPhone will eventually eclipse RIM's smartphone market share. Such is the strength of a real platform as opposed to a family of good devices.

Ever since writing my piece on why the BlackBerry Storm is a fairly lousy smartphone -- perhaps, in fact, a massive mistake -- I've been deluged by email asking why I switched back to a BlackBerry when I had an iPhone. Here's my answer. I'm a BlackBerry guy and have been since the BB 7130. Verizon is my carrier, and for all the idiocy they seem proud to display, their service is indeed excellent. For the longest time, the BlackBerry had been the best mobile phone platform I had ever used, and while its interface might not win any awards and its Java-based OS occasionally becomes considerably retarded, I loved each new BlackBerry I got. Until the iPhone came along, at which point I got serious, hardcore phone envy. Being an Apple guy, I was completely intrigued by the iPhone, but didn't move to it right away. At the time I was working in a large corporation where Exchange was the groupware norm, and moving to what was then considered a first-gen concept phone with no Exchange support would have been counterproductive. So, I decided to wait. The iPhone started kicking all sorts of ass, I changed jobs to a local consulting firm where being plugged into Exchange wasn't a requirement, the iPhone SDK was announced and then the iPhone 3G made its debut. The stars aligned. For business use, the difference between an iPhone and a BlackBerry is rapidly apparent, especially if you're used to the lightning-fast, whizbang efficiency of a BlackBerry. First, the AT&T service where I work was very spotty, and it wasn't because of the early iPhone 2.0 and 2.0.x firmware 3G glitches. I was dropping three calls a day from various areas, which, when your mobile phone is your only phone, is unacceptable. Carrier issues aside, the navigation and usage of the iPhone turned out to be frustrating to me. I hated how the phone would lock itself constantly, even on the longest time-delay setting. I didn't care for how easy it was to misdial someone, especially when on the road. While I was decent two-thumbing the virtual keyboard, it took a good deal of concentration and was no substitute for a physical one. I hated the lack of one-key speed dials and shortcuts to apps.

Look, I’ll just cut to the chase, because sites like Boy Genius Report, Engadget and Gizmodo have all the details covered in gory detail.

Bottom line: the BlackBerry Storm isn’t all that great.  And this is coming from someone who had a bunch of BlackBerries, moved to the iPhone, and then (gasp!) went back to BlackBerry.

At this point, Apple should send a nice basket of wine and chocolate to RIM with a pleasant, holiday-themed thank you card.

Why?

Even IF the Storm’s OS wasn’t unpolished, and even IF the UI metaphors are completely new to most BlackBerry users, and even IF a lack of a real keyboard won’t eventually come to be known as a deterrent to BlackBerry users expecting a BlackBerry experience, the real problem is that the phone is just a device, not a platform.  Regardless of RIM’s SDK efforts, this is the only touchscreen BlackBerry on the planet, and here in the States it’s only available on Verizon.  And there’s no real buzz about a robust SDK, and there’s no gathering swell of users dying to write apps for a phone that, thus far, has been completely lukewarm.

Contrast that to the iPhone.  Yes, it’s only available on one US carrier, but the SDK has been here for quite some time, and it’s real and polished and usable.  The app market for the iPhone is quite real, as any decent iPhone developer could have told you after the first month or two of enjoying brisk downloads and word-of-mouth interest.  And the keystone of it all is that Apple is behind it: they have the marketing savvy and development resources to truly build buzz and erect an entire ecosystem around the iPhone to draw people into the fold.

Because the iPhone is a mobile computing platform, not a phone.  Amazing how many people don’t yet understand that this is Apple’s coup de grace.

The BlackBerry Storm, in my opinion, is a wonderful illustration of how Apple’s innovation and market appeal can force a smart company like RIM to invest millions of dollars in a product that’s way outside its core competency.  You don’t see Apple trying to create a full-on enterprise/e-mail device, do you?

You don’t, and you won’t.  Apple will just continue to gather mindshare as dozens of imitators try to absorb their share of the touchscreen multimedia pie.

So what exactly did RIM just do with the Storm?

Validated the hell out of Apple’s innovation, technology and — because RIM fell short with the Storm — position in the market.  Like every other company that released its ‘iPhone killer’ only to see it heavily discounted after six months of slow sales.

I’m a BlackBerry guy, and I wanted to move to the Storm and love it like a brother.  Unfortunately, even I wasn’t prepared for how unfinished (read: rushed) it is.

I have a feeling Verizon will be getting boatloads of returns on the thing.

Related:

A cloud hangs over BlackBerry Storm

RIM cuts profit and sales goals

For anyone out there who is considering moving to the iPhone 3G from a BlackBerry (as I am), check out this discussion.  If you are considering such a move or have done it in the past, I'd love to hear your comments.

Well, the SDK is upon us, and while I haven't done a full analysis, I'm happy to say I was more or less right in my insistence that the iPhone must tackle real enterprise (Exchange) OTA synchronization to be a viable business phone. The half-ass methods -- via browser, etc. -- are worthless for real corporate citizens. The ass is no longer halved. Apple has unveiled a full-bore iPhone Enterprise Beta Program. As John Gruber notes, however, the issues Apple pledged to tackle today are serious and difficult. Saying they'll be addressed is one thing, but the gods live in the details: how they're addressed -- and how well -- will be the proof points IT organizations will validate. Gruber is also correct in noting that the iPhone will communicate directly with Exchange via ActiveSync, not an adjunct server to Exchange, like the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Depending on who you talk to, this isn't necessarily a good thing: RIM's server-side software is very, very strong. But I imagine from a management perspective, having another box (or boxes) to manage on top of your Exchange farm is, well, inconvenient. So far, so good. I'm thrilled Apple decided to move in this direction. From what I can tell, with this enterprise program, the iPhone will be as viable a corporate citizen as any Treo or MS smartphone using Exchange ActiveSync. Gruber takes a stab at the key scenario:

This doesn’t make the iPhone a BlackBerry killer, but the iPhone can do more BlackBerry-ish things than the BlackBerry can do iPhone-ish things.

I tend to agree with him. The iPhone will have its feet in more pools than RIM, although how deeply might be the deciding criteria for some business users. (And then there's that cursed lack of a tactile keyboard, which, believe me, will be a showstopper for serious business email monkeys. But that's another post.) Time will tell, but for now I say: hell yes. Nice work, Apple.

I'm about to do something an Apple guy shouldn't do, and I know it will net me all sorts of angry comments and emails. For some, this is akin to some sort of crime, especially seeing how the iPhone just bagged an ungodly high satisfaction score with PC Mag. Nonetheless, I'm going to explain why I want to buy an iPhone but simply can't, and I'm going to give you an idea of what sort of mobile phone user I am. Let's take those in reverse order. I'm on Verizon. I'm a BlackBerry user and have just purchased a BlackBerry 8130 Pearl, which won out over the iPhone. Prior to the Pearl, I had a BlackBerry 8703e and, before that, a BlackBerry 7130. I've been nothing but utterly thrilled with BlackBerry and can say that they're the best smartphones I've ever used, bar none. They're light years above Palm and Windows Mobile devices. If you think they're just huge email devices for corporate blowhards, you're wrong. Go check them out again. I'm a phone power user. I have multiple email accounts integrated into my BlackBerry. I use the browser constantly, as well as Gmail and Google Maps. I use nearly every dimension of a modern mobile phone, and I won't consider anything but a smartphone. Whatever I choose has to do everything reasonably well; there can't be any glaring weaknesses.

It's not just web apps anymore, kids: Apple Hot News:

Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers. It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target. Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs. We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones. Steve

My decision to go to an iPhone is almost complete. It's either that or Verizon's upcoming Blackberry Pearl. Someone talk to me. Go.