Blackberries were once the biggest thing in mobile. When the only competition was a Palm Treo it looked like they were unstoppable. What happened?
Check out this article: http://www.asymco.com/2012/07/02/rims-tailspin/
Wow. What a nightmare! It's crazy to think that they once had the top mobile platform. Internet sites were developed specifically to be viewed on their devices. That sounded like the a great barrier to entry for competition. Then, Opera made a browser for blackberry that let you use the regular internet easily on a Blackberry. I used it on my Curve. It was clunky, but very clearly an indication of the future.
Then, iPhone happened. Everything changed. Mobile email, while valuable, became just a tiny portion of the value of a mobile device. With the new browser, development for mobile websites changed. Now, full size sites can still be viable (if not optimal). At the time, it looked like RIM had a chance. They tried to launch a touchscreen competitor. But, bad execution on the Storm and it's web browser sealed the deal. If you looked at unit growth, you might have seen a health company in 2008, but the market share was eroding.
Missing that boat was huge for RIM. For marketers now, getting all over mobile advertising is the goal. SoLoMo is the buzzword of the day. Mobile computing is on the rise and it's taking over mindshare for consumers and brands need to be there, too.
It's unclear where customers might be, but it is clear that they will have their phones with them.
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