Launch of the first generation iPhone:

June 2007 was the Apocalypse month for RIM, the maker of BlackBerry and other smartphone manufacturers. The iPhone was born, so to say anointed to bring change to the smartphone market. One year down the line, we saw the rebirth of the device, in the form of the iPhone 3G. We still remember how we walked into Apple Stores, carrying an iPod, a cell phone and a PDA and came out with a single device that perform all the functions of the devices once we carry around with great pride. Apple did something great.

The iPhone became our dream and reality ignoring our once very popular models from RIM, Treo, Motorola, Nokia, etc. Like snakes we readily shed the technology skin for a newer one. Many switch over to AT&T when the iPhone was launched and many more followed when the 3G version was launched in July 2008. All these selfish twist in our way of worshiping technology have hurt our former device manufacturers and former network carriers. You all know that, right?

RIM and other Smartphone manufacturers have not accepted defeat, though. All these days your former gadget manufacturers have been busy experimenting various ways to get back their lost sheep, you being one of them. However, you and me have whiled away time thinking of only Apple, eating apples and watching wonderful podcasts, movies, songs, applications, etc, from the App Store. Look at what RIM has done in the past one year to welcome us back to the BlackBerry party. These are some of the devices that RIM pumped out till date to compete with the iPhone.

How RIM responded to Apple:

RIM announced the launch of BlackBerry 8820 on 17 July, 2007 before the launch of the iPhone. The whole prospect of attracting buyers with e-mail support, built-in GPS, maps, Wi-Fi, web browser, instant messaging, media player support, etc was spoiled when the iPhone came on the 29th of July, 2007. People were way too curious to try out the virtual keyboard of the iPhone and iTunes experience. The BlackBerry was untimely shelved.

In September 2007, RIM brought out the GPS enabled BlackBerry Curve 8310, New BlackBerry Pearl colors, and New BlackBerry 8820 with Wi-Fi, but the attempts were not much rewarded. Apple on the other hand reached a million sales. Launch of the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 in Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Singapore followed in October and November of 2007, but the exact number of units sold was not disclosed.

December 2007, was also not fruitful for RIM, the launch of BlackBerry 8703e and BlackBerry 8830 world class edition with GPS navigations and wireless broadband service could not budge the changed world. The launch of BlackBerry 8707g and BlackBerry Pearl8110 in January 2008 was not that successful in attracting (once upon a time) BlackBerry fans who gave in to the call of the iPhone.

Of all RIM’s attempts to compete with the iPhone, the nearest killer came out on May 12, 2008, that was the BlackBerry Bold. This was the time when people all around the world started talking that iPhone 3G is coming soon.  That spoiled the sport and those who have used the first generation iPhone were ready to switch on to the much faster and efficient iPhone 3G conversion. Feature wise the Bold has almost everything that the iPhone offers. The Bold was an attempt from RIM to give users 3G feel, however, that was not a very successful venture. Someone just tested and found out that the 3G connection of the Bold was slower than the speed of the 2G iPhone.

The theories of Apple’s success

RIM’s CEO once dismissed that touch-screen is a piece of glass, but the piece of glass in some ways took away the charm of QWERTY keyboard of the BlackBerry series. The launch of the iPhone 3G and the subsequent launch of the App Store was the hardest blow for all smartphone manufacturers.

At one point, smartphone manufacturers started believing in the myth that the success of the iPhone is due to the touch technology and the accelerometer feature. Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola started pumping out touchscreen phones to try their luck. RIM is not an exception; the first BlackBerry touchscreen phone will be out soon to compete with the iPhone 3G. How far will this go? Moreover, many companies have plans up their sleeves to replicate the success story of the App Store. We are yet to see the daylight of the plans. Has Apple finally become the benchmark?

iPhone still the winner?

Apple has taken a very strong foothold in the sands of technology. While other companies are busy manufacturing devices to take down the iPhone, Apple is doing its best to better the software to give the best to the only iPhone. RIM has many BlackBerries to showcase to the world and leads the smartphone sales for now; Apple is reported to have made the 10 million sales mark for 2008. Who is the winner in the end? Well, we are yet to see the end, the battle continues.