Five reasons why RIM's BB10 might fail!

Reverse countdown begins, as this week RIM's most awaited, most talked about and biggest gamble-BB10 launches in New york City.

Will this revive the company and bring back RIM from the ashes? RIM has a lot riding on this week's announcements-maybe the future of the company. Well, we find out why this gamble will not work out for RIM:

"Best BB for BB users?"

Research firm Ovum said RIM failed to address current market trends and designed its latest release(BES10 launch) primarily for existing users, building "the best BlackBerry for BlackBerry users".

"The new smartphone will give the company some reprieve but will not be its "salvation". RIM still faces the "twin demons" of consumer-driven buying power and a "chronic inability" to appeal to consumers from mature markets," said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst, Ovum in media reports.

Enterprises no longer buy the bulk of smartphones sold today and consumers are opting to purchase other devices over BlackBerry, leading low sales for RIM's offerings.

"There's no doubt that RIM has taken a hit on global smartphone marketshare-especially in the enterprise where it is rapidly being replaced by iPhones; it saw its installed base decrease for the first time in history by two million in the last quarter," said Phil Redman,research vice president,Gartner in his blog post.

No attractions for new users!

Some of the key attractions like Blackberry Hub,Onscreen keypad,BlackBerry Flow" UI are already been in the market in some or the other forms under various platforms.

While the device will appeal to existing users, BB10 will unlikely do likewise to users of other platforms with few compelling apps, content stores or a robust ecosystem, said Dawson.

 

However, Having said that, some important features can justify the buzz around BB10 but attracting new users with these, can be a task for the company.

"With BES 10 launch, the integration of Mobile Fusion with multi-platform MDM and the BES just makes sense. A key feature is the improved BlackBerry Balance, which offers an easy to use business container in a dual-persona format. The growing interest of companies in separating business vs. personal data, especially with BYOD, will help stem some of the flow of BES removals,"suggests Phil Redman,research vice president,Gartner

Cheaper Options than BB in the market

In a smartphone market largely dominated by the iOS and Android, carving out a niche for BB10 will be increasingly tough. More so now that the market seems to be getting even more competitive with Windows Phones and competitive price points of these platforms.

"BB10 requires high-end specs which it cannot continue to deliver on these low price-points. As such, the popularity of BlackBerry in emerging markets cannot be sustained, he said, noting that Android devices will also offer better priced alternatives,"an Dawson, chief telecoms analyst, Ovum.

Too Late

BB10 marks the Canadian company's first device launch in two years, though it released the BB7.1 update last year. In India, it is expected for Q2 launch. The launch took far too long, dragging the upgrade cycle and pulling down RIM's results in the interim.

"Should BB10 deliver, it would boost the company's numbers for the first two quarters this year, he said. Longer term, however, the vendor's performance will return to its downward trend," said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst, Ovum.

Not for emerging markets

BlackBerry devices have become middle-class status symbol for consumers in emerging markets, these are low-priced and run on BB7.

With developers shifting their focus to the latest release of BES10, RIM will find it increasingly difficult to maintain the appeal of its older platform in these markets as the company will unlikely release new hardware on it.