Can RIM get its mojo back with the BlackBerry Tour?

The summer of the smartphone is heating up as Research In Motion is set to introduce on Sunday its latest BlackBerry device, called the Tour. But will it be enough to keep RIM king of the smartphone market?

BlackBerry Tour

(Credit: CNET )

The BlackBerry Tour is hitting store shelves at an important time for RIM, which has been reportedly taking a sales hit as carriers promote exclusive phones, such as the Palm Pre on Sprint Nextel's network and the Apple iPhone 3GS on AT&T's network, according to Michael Walkley of Piper Jaffray.

Walkley said in a research note published this week that BlackBerry sales declined in June at AT&T and Sprint as these carriers focused marketing dollars and sales attention on iPhone and Pre over older BlackBerry handsets. Sales of BlackBerry devices remained solid at T-Mobile USA, but they were slightly down at Verizon Wireless, after the carrier ended its "buy one, get one" promotion, Walkley also reported.

But now it looks like RIM has a new device to excite its base of business users and consumers, especially those looking for a smartphone they can take overseas.

Unlike its smartphone competitors, the BlackBerry Tour is not offered exclusively on a single carrier network. Instead it will be available on two carrier networks: Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless. Each carrier is set to launch the device on Sunday. Making its phone available on multiple carrier networks is not unusual for RIM, which sells its products on all four major carrier networks. But typically carriers don't make the devices available on the same day. In some ways, the non-exclusive arrangement could help RIM sell more devices because it greatly increases the potential sales base. But it might also hurt, if carriers focus more marketing attention and budget on promoting their exclusive phones.

It's yet to be seen how popular the new BlackBerry Tour will be. But at this point any new device from BlackBerry is likely better than none.

"Sales of the Tour are key in our opinion, as our checks indicated RIM may need strong July and August sales to meet its guidance," Walkley said in his research note.

The new phone, which sports Bluetooth, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, a full QWERTY keypad, and a high-resolution screen offers everything that BlackBerry lovers have come to expect. And it also comes equipped with a Quad-band radio that allows the phone to be used internationally on both CDMA and GSM networks. The addition of the 800MHz and 1900MHz radio for CDMA is particularly important for users traveling to Latin America and parts of Asia where CDMA is available on these frequencies.

The device is likely to appeal mostly to business customers, particularly those who travel, and existing BlackBerry users. While Sprint Nextel also plans to market the phone to consumers, the carrier plans to target these customers first.

"Clearly there is already a strong base of BlackBerry customers, and many of them are business users," said Tim Donahue, vice president of business marketing for Sprint. "And we want to make sure they have access to the latest and greatest BlackBerry device out there."

Targeting BlackBerry base
Going after the business or enterprise customer is a smart move for Sprint. Business customers account for about half the subscribers on the Sprint network. But Sprint has also been pushing the Palm Pre as a business-friendly device. Donahue explained that there is room for multiple products to address the same market.

"There is no silver bullet when it comes to devices in this industry," he said. "It's more of a cadence and it's about building a portfolio."

For Verizon Wireless, the Tour is its major smartphone launch of the summer. The company hasn't made much noise about the Windows Mobile smartphones it has recently launched. And its last big smarpthone campaign was the exclusive deal for the BlackBerry Storm, RIM's only touch-screen phone.

The BlackBerry Curve and the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition phones have been big sellers for Verizon. But the BlackBerry Bold, which is only available on AT&T's network in the U.S., is considered by many BlackBerry aficionados to be RIM's most desirable BlackBerry. The Bold, which gets its name from its screen, has a high-resolution screen that has been described as eye-popping by CNET reviewer Bonnie Cha.

The BlackBerry Tour's design is a nice combination of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (pictured here) and the BlackBerry Bold.

(Credit: CNET)

The BlackBerry Storm uses similar screen technology. But now with the BlackBerry Tour, Verizon is able to offer a device with a high resolution screen and a QWERTY keypad.

"If you take the keyboard and international reach of the BlackBerry 8830 and the screen quality of the Storm and combine them, you have the Tour," said Dan Mock, director of marketing for Verizon Wireless.

Walkley believes that the pent up demand for a BlackBerry Bold-like experience on Verizon's network will help make this a popular device for existing Verizon customers.

"We expect the Tour will sell very well to Verizon's installed BlackBerry subscriber base, as this is Verizon's first product that is competitive with the Bold at AT&T," he said in his note.

While the device will certainly be an important cornerstone of Verizon's smartphone line up, it's not an exclusive deal. So it's unlikely that the device will attract many new customers to Verizon. But Mock said that doesn't matter.

"It's never been our stance to go out and base our business on one iconic device," he said. "It's always been about the network for us. Still, I'd say we also have a strong portfolio of smartphones and mobile devices on our network."

For RIM the real question is whether the Tour can get enough momentum in the market to boost sales in July and August to reach its sales targets. The launch of so many other hot smartphones at one time presents a challenge for the company as it tries to push the Tour to the forefront of customers' minds.

And the pressure could continue to intensify as T-Mobile USA still launches its next Google Android phone, the MyTouch, in early August. T-Mobile has made the MyTouch its flagship smartphone, and the company is throwing a lot of money and marketing muscle behind the device. And even though carriers, such as AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile all claim that their sales reps are just as happy to sell a BlackBerry as they are any of these exclusive devices, it's hard to argue that these big marketing campaigns do not have an effect on sales of other devices, such as RIM's BlackBerrys.

"The device will officially hit store shelves on Sunday at Verizon Wireless stores and Sprint Nextel locations."

Sprint hasn't announced when it will be in stores. Is this info from Sprint that it will in fact be in stores on the 12th?

[Henzapper]

Yeah, Sprint's officially announced that they're also selling the Tour on the 12th.

@Henzapper They've only said it will be available to order on the 12th by phone or online. I want to walk in and walk out with one.

[codynews]

"Can RIM get its mojo back with the BlackBerry Tour?"

No.

Cody

[Mark_Anderson]

Did it ever lose its mojo?

No.

Or was I just imagining the bit where it's number two in the world (behind Nokia) and its Curve outsold the iPhone last quarter?

[Random_Walk]

Disclaimer: I own and use a Crackberry.

That said, the reason RIM is losing out has nothing to do with exclusivity per se... IMHO, they're losing out because they either tried to chase the leader (e.g. the Storm), or they devalued their brand (with the silly BOGO deal they had going at Verizon, which looks as if it is about to bite them fairly hard, subsidy be damned...)

[nicksilvestri]

I 100% agree that they devalued their brand! Now they're trying to make cool phones, when most of the people who use them don't care whether it's cool, they just need it to work.

[elllroy]

well, that looks so 90ies, it hurts. who in his right mind is buying something like this?

[Mark_Anderson]

People with jobs.

[dylerl]

Yeah what is this thing. It looks like a phone I had in 2000 not 2009. I am an Avid Iphone user and would never use anything like this but why has RIM abandoned the storm, they should use the hurdles that came with that phone and build a better version that can compete with the Iphone, Pre, and Android Phones. If they don't then they won't last in the cutthroat smartphone game of this century.

[ezar101]

rim is not abandoning the storm they are building another one its called the blackberry storm 2 exclusive to verizon wireless

[XiroMisho]

RIM does this crazy thing - it's called: Making more than one product.

So, unlike Apple, who makes an iPhone 3Gs and USED to make the iPhone 3G, RIM makes a wide variety of phones that appeal to a wide variety of markets...

Where as Apple makes one test phone everyone buys, then a second test phone everyone buys, and finally what appears to be a final version of the iPhone, thus being the 3Gs... Should be the iPhone F - for "Finally has all the features the other guys has..."

I'm not saying that the iPhone lacks features, the app store has apps that will add features (nickle/dime...) but how is the video on that iPhone 3g? ...oh.. sorry. should go out abd buy the S then, like Apple hopes you'll do - come on - Steve Jobs needs a new liver! Help a Billionaire out!

[CristGarage]

Wow, that's an unfortunate phone right there. No WiFi?! Tiny screen, crappy browser, lousy camera, etc..

RIM's cooked if that's the best they got.

Sorry to see that.

[gstevennash]

RIM has a few things in every phone that the Iphone doesn't.
1. A removable battery
2. removable and scalable memory
3. MMS messaging

Also, wifi isn't as necessary if you have service with Verizon vs AT&T. The 3G coverage is far greater.
The screen is small on some Blackberry phones and some have large screens. It's call choice. and the numbers last quarter say have the smart phone market chose Blackberry.

[xbryan]

To the poster above, the iPhone does have MMS. On AT&T in the U.S., it is not yet enabled but will be shortly.

[monkeyfun14]

"And its last big smarpthone campaign was the exclusive deal for the BlackBerry Storm, RIM's only touch-screen phone."


I'd like to get my hands on one of these smarpthone's you speak of xD

[Deekman]

Is it just me or do all the blackberries look the same? With the exception of the touch-screen, Pearl and flip phones, they all look exactly the same. Why does RIP -I mean RIM- keep packaging a smart device in the same form all the time?

Is it just me or do all the iPhones look the same?

[xbryan]

To the poster above, iPhones have looked the same for 2 years. BlackBerries have looked the same for ages.

[ywkhgqo]

xbryan, yeah except how long has the iphone been out? Blackberries have had a general shape and design that works perfectly. Why f with it?

[sting7k]

This is all RIM has got? Why is this even a story? It is the same thing they have been making for 4 years in a fancier package. No one is camping out in the street waiting and it lacks Wifi STILL. Get with it RIM, fail. I'm sure people with old BB's that are showing their age will upgrade to this just because it's new. But it isn't competing with the Bold and I don't see who is going to give up their iPhone, Pre, Bold, or even Storm for this heep.

[qwerty-berty]

Though I'd love to see a bunch of middle managers all suited up on release day, camping out for their cool new BB.

[yacahuma]

RIM = OLD = BORING
Can someone put it out of their misery?

[dougmcnerd]

No freaking way! RIM doesn't know crap about OS development! RIP RIM.

[JerryRiggg]

I hope RIM, Sprint & Verizon are reading these comments because everyone has valid points. As for me, I like it that the Tour is a world phone; that's just what I need but I will not spend another dime on a phone that doesn't have wi-fi.

[David Dudley]

I had to use a Blackberry Pearl today and using it was absolutely miserable. Having to type in the URL to get the Blackberry app store in the BB browser was a nightmare unto itself, downloading and installing applications was an exercise in patience. After an application installed, the long time waiting for it to launch proved to me once and for all why I love the Pre and iPhone so much more than any Blackberry device that has even been created.

[ywkhgqo]

the pearl is not a real blackberry. Try actually using a real one. Its comparing a $50 phone to a $200 one.

[qwerty-berty]

Never used one I can't comment on the usability but Blackberries look plain awful. They need to recruit some decent designers before business users get their heads turned by younger, prettier phones.

[spoonie1972]

My significant other just got a BB Bold. I have an iphone.

Rather than speak in definitives, i will just say my opinion: I understand why these things are popular among business users. If your business requires you to be an email junkie, they win, hands down. There is no competition.

For everything else - i prefer my phone.

I don't think RIM is anywhere near "RIP" - but i do think they're going to have to diversify (storm 2? hope it works for them) if they want more consumer, rather than enterprise, users.

[bkedersha]

RIM has never lost it's mojo. They are still outselling iPhone, and are a dominating player in the market. Plus, they have some of the best customers in the world, governments!

[sting7k]

Lets see if the Tour comes anywhere near 1 million devices sold in it's first weekend.

[Silver_2000]

After a Day of Blackberry Training for BES 5.0 its clear that RIM is totally focused on the HUGE enterprise. The businesses with 5,000 blackberries or more. The smaller shops and the individual personal buyers dont make much difference to them. The new devices are likely to have the options and features these HUGE enterprises require. Not what the fanboys want. On a side note - Ive never understood the demands that every new phone have wifi ... Why ? Unless you are trying to save battery on an Iphone or save your allowance by not buying a data plan why its wifi such a requirement ?

[cdxskier6]

Part of the problem is RIMs carriers....Verizon and Sprint suck!

[ywkhgqo]

yeah except for the fact that verizon has the best rated customer service, and every phone review on cnet basically says, "well its on verizon, so the call quality and coverage are great".
Look for molly wood's buzz report talking about how much AT&T sucks.

nice try.

[Shadowking75]

The Blackberry Is for business,getting emails mainly-The IPHONE is cool but mainly a toy

[csoccer1]

i thought business phones had wifi... the iphone and pre have wifi. why doesn't a business phone have wifi? it amazes me. any smartphone should have wifi, its faster than 3G. no excuse.

[mooney101]

NO WIFI then NO PHONE for me. This is ridiculas to have a smartphone with no wifi. We as consumers need to demand it and frankly I wont buy another phone without it.

[jeremyblaze]

really... what limitations did you accept on your current phone. Last I looked, there was no magic phone that had everything I wanted. Maybe someday. Until then I make decisions based on the whole package, not one feature. Not getting the Tour, BTW. Just my opinion.