Newsflash: Apple and RIM Are Competitors.

I am not sure where Apple markets their iphones, but with RIM in the stategic areas of growth, India, Brazil, China, Russia and the 63 other countries where land lines may not exist, plus the mammoth task awaiting them on the airplanes. You must remember that RIM is interested in efficiency and communication. Work while you travel for professionals in all walks of life : from children to managers, doctors, delivery people vacationers througout the globe. I say watch out lap-top producers... the berry is a lot more than its cracked up to be. Not only is RIM a threat to Apple, its as much a threat to to Microsoft ( in that not as many laptops might be needed in the future) and its threat to Nokia is more than real. The “toys on a phone” is not what going to drive the business, it’s the multi functionality of the unit.

For Christmas, I decided to go with the pearl...instead of a laptop because I have a desk top to do all my dirty work.
PLUS … the sure-type means fewer key strokes for my physically disabled to manage short e-mails

It's going to be a toss-up until Apple announces push e-mail and Exchange Server sync. Then the free ride is over for RIM in the corporate world. The iPhone will accomplish in a year what it took RIM years to do. This is Apple's first handset and they're accomplishing things that most handset companies and WS said couldn't be done. All the rest of the handset companies can do now is play catch-up.

There's no way RIM can compete against Apple in the consumer handset market. RIM just doesn't have the resources to do it alone. They'd have to revamp their whole retail business. They'd have to come up with an OS and UI that could compete against the iPhones elegance. If anybody thinks that RIM can develop an OS better than Leopard for the iPhone when even Microsoft can't do it is crazy.

Apple has a whole line-up of products that can be integrated with the iPhone. Apple can undercut prices for iPhones and still reap large profit margins if necessary. I don't think they'll need to, however. iPhones will be integrated into new vehicles as with iPods. With just three retail stores in Manhattan they can probably sell more iPhones in a day than RIM can sell BlackBerrys in a week.

With $15 billion of cash sitting in the bank Apple can pick and choose whatever weapons they need to cripple RIM.

I'd put my money on Apple. RIM's phones are so yesterday. Hey DOS 7.0 was outselling Macs back in 1993. RIM's out of their league on this one. And to boot they must side step 200 of Apple and others patents which ain't going to be easy for a bunch of close to amateur GUI programmers!

The iPhone is a computer in the shape of a Phone. It has an operating system just like a computer. It's software is easily updated via its iTunes interface. That is the most significant difference between the iPhone and the Blackberry.

It will take many years for other competitors to catch up to this. They might come out with devices that "look" similar but internally they will be significantly inferior.

Please check your facts before posting...

Outlook has never been in contention. It's Exchange, two completely different products. In addition, the whole MS issue is a red herring. iPhone has always been able to work with both Outlook and Exchange. However the real issue that's intentionally dismissed is the vast majority of businesses on this planet are small to medium sized, not Fortune 500 sized. Those businesses typically don't run Exchange servers, so the issue is moot.

Secondly. In checking AT&T and Verizon plans for either the Blackberry or Nokia offerings, prior to purchasing an iPhone, all other options were more expensive over the term of the contract.

For an outfit with the moniker "BusinessWeek", it's clear you rarely have a grasp on what actually happens in the business world.

Signed,

Tired of Dogma from Urinalists

I had a Blackberry 8700C. Well, since I'd bought it, I actually still have it, but it sits in a drawer, and my current personal phone is an iPhone.

I suspect that's indicative of how successful they're likely to be in the consumer space, unless they really do something radical with their products. I've looked at the newer RIM models out of curiosity, and haven't seen anything that would change my mind. I use a Blackberry still at work, but much of my work mail winds up routed to my iPhone, because the BB's hasn't been very reliable (I'm shortly to get my 4th one in three years- and no, I don't drop them, though I've considered throwing them at times.... ;^)