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By Rob Garretson
Research In Motion is testing a tablet device as well as a new touchscreen smartphone in an attempt to keep its popular BlackBerry device on pace with Apple’s mobile devices and Google and its Android platform, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, which cited unnamed sources familiar with RIM’s plans, the leading smartphone maker is developing a new BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard that mimics the gesture-based interface of Apple's iPhone and runs the new operating system -- OS 6.0 -- that RIM introduced in April. RIM is also in the early stages of developing a tablet that will be tethered to a BlackBerry phone for network connectivity and could be released as early as year-end, the report said.
Analysts and observers see the new devices as essential to RIM’s effort to ward off competition from Apple and Google-based devices, but see the OS 6.0 upgrade and how well it enhances the user experience as the key to maintaining the company’s dominance in the enterprise.
While BlackBerrys are the leading mobile devices for the enterprise, more than half of RIM’s sales are now to consumers. In addition to keeping corporate IT managers happy with enterprise class administrative tools, RIM is under pressure to keep pace with Apple, which is set to deliver the iPhone 4 and its latest mobile operating system version next week, while a slew of new cutting-edge devices based on Google’s Android operating system, which has just been refreshed with a new version, including the popular Motorola Droid Incredible sold by Verizon and Sprint’s new HTC EVO 4G, which can access 3G and 4G networks.
Specifics on BlackBerry OS 6.0 remain scarce, despite the demonstration of the new version by RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis at the company’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium this spring. He trumpeted enhancements including an improved WebKit-based browser, a customizable homescreen, a revamped media player and a more intuitive user experience. But analysts point to how elegantly RIM implements such features as the key to maintaining its edge.
The new OS is critical to RIM's future, according to Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis in Sterling, Va. Although BlackBerry is still selling well on its strength as a mobile mail platform, that will not be enough for long.
"Being the best device for mobile e-mail isn't enough anymore, especially as RIM has moved more into the consumer market," Greengart said in April in reaction to the Blackberry OS 6.0 demonstration. "The vast majority of the new phones RIM sells are not hooked up to corporate servers. RIM's user experience has been exceptional for e-mail, but that's about as far as it goes."
While a tablet could be an important addition to RIM’s BlackBerry product line, analyst Ken Hyers of Technology Business Research told eWeek that “much will depend on the ability of the new BlackBerry 6 OS to provide an engaging experience.”
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