Written by: Alex Johnson
One of the most competitive markets around today is the technological market. Whether it’s phones, computers, or anything in between, the race to create the most appealing and innovative technology is just beginning. BlackBerry is a company that once sold smartphones so popular that they were referred to as “CrackBerrys.” So what happened to the once popular smartphone producers?
In the past few years, BlackBerry has failed to keep up with the technological advances of Apple and Samsung. It seems as though their prospects are continually dwindling, with their share in the smartphone market shrinking from 4.9% to 2.9% in just a year. Blackberry has taken the spot of 4th place behind other popular phones such as Androids, iPhones, and Microsoft. “Blackberry really missed the whole transformation of the smartphone,” Segan said. Apple and Android phones continued to grow and become more and more popular, but Blackberry failed to release an really new or “exciting” hardware for its customers, ultimately causing its shares to decrease.
Blackberry recently released the Z10, their newest smartphone, in January of 2013. The reviews of the new phone were mostly positive, but there was nothing really new about the phone. It mirrored most other smartphones on the market, and therefore failed to change the company’s prospects.
The fate of Blackberry resembles a recent situation that occurred with another well known company—Dell. Dell was once a powerhouse in the world of PCs. “It’s made-to-order model was no longer viewed as useful for consumers, while tablet computers and smartphones sapped demands for PCs” (Blackberry, Meet Dell). Dell was once the the number one PC maker in the entire world, and they have now fallen to number three. Both Dell and Blackberry can attribute some of their downfall to Apple and its increasingly new and inventive products. In 2009, BlackBerry had nearly 50% of the market of operating systems in smartphones, according to IDC. It now has 2.1% (Blackberry, Meet Dell). Dell faced a buyout, the purchase of controlling interests in a corporation by another corporation, after many failed attempts to return to the top of the market.
Blackberry faces a similar fate to Dell, but considerably worse. Blackberry’s continuing efforts to pull themselves out of their never-ending slump just were not working for the company. They attempted to “run a rapid auction and have a buyer identified in a few months” (Blackberry, Meet Dell). The company has announced a $4.7 billion buyout offer. Many investors are tentative towards the offer because they aren’t sure if they see a future in the company.
"Taking BlackBerry private doesn't solve the fundamental problems," said Ovum analyst Jan Dawson in a report. "It's likely that BlackBerry will be out of the device business entirely by the middle of next year. Unless Fairfax plans to radically change or accelerate BlackBerry's strategy, it's unlikely to be able to turn the company around.” (Blackberry Gets Buyout Offer).
So what is the fate of Blackberry? We may not know now, but let this company and other companies like Dell be a lesson to the rest of the market. If you plan on staying around, competition is key. In this world of ever changing technology, businesses must keep up with the world transforming around them and continually challenge their competition. Consumers will always want the newest and most interesting product.
" BlackBerry, Meet Dell: A Comparison of 2013′s Tech Buyouts - MoneyBeat - WSJ." WSJ Blogs - WSJ. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://blogs.wsj.com/
"BlackBerry Gets Buyout Offer, But Does Firm Have A Future? - Yahoo Finance."Yahoo Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://finance.yahoo.com/
"BlackBerry surges in buyout prospects."USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/
News, Bloomberg. "Analysts: BlackBerry problems spiral toward doom." Standard-Examiner - Top of Utah News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://www.standard.net/
It is amazing how Blackberry controlled almost half of the market only four hears ago, but now they control a tenth of what they once did. The shift of consumer preference to other phones besides Blackberry lowered the demand and want for a Blackberry.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great concept to blog on when considering economic values of certain objects. Eventhough there are new phones coming out that have more to them such as apple products and samsung, blackberry's are still very expensive. Maybe for the brand name or possibly becuase there phones have proven to be quality.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love how you ended this post! Overall, like you stated, this topic really does raise awareness to other companies about how important it is to stay with the latest trends and advances in technology. It's crazy how Blackberry truly used to be so popular but now you hardly hear a word about it. Because new, modern technology is so appealing to consumers, people have faded away from the old brands. Apple truly has taken the spotlight away from almost every brand out there. If Blackberry wants to make a comeback it is going to take a lot because the demand for technology has shifted so much.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this article a lot because when I first got my blackberry it was a huge thing, but now with all the smartphones coming out blackberry is left to sulk in the dust. I can believe however that it has dropped to number 4 on the list; every new phone they release cannot keep up with the technological advances that Samsung, and Apple have to offer. It is sad that Blackberry has pretty much disappeared from day to day life, but people do want the latest technology, and will not settle for something that is not technologically advanced.
ReplyDeleteWith BlackBerry being the first to hypnotize customers with their innovations and ideas through the first smartphones, it is almost unbelievable how a company can undergo much failure when it was once known as the best. BlackBerry is a great example of how rigorous competition is through business. In order to profit, a company must come up with an idea that will appeal to audiences –which they did, causing a craze over their cellphones. But with more and more companies coming up with even better technology, it is common sense to stick to bigger and better. With several limitations and roadblocks, it is not easy to come up with new technology that can defeat cellphones that are in the market already. If BlackBerry did not take a break or become so hidden within the times other companies flourished, there could have been a possibility success with BlackBerry. But because of their performance, it is obvious that their ideas will no longer linger on, although they were the first to introduce the most popular “smartphone”.
ReplyDeleteAs far as technology goes, competition truly is the key. There will always be a better, newer, more interesting item being released, and it is up to the business to create something even more exciting. Because of the way humans operate, they naturally want these new innovative items, and businesses will need to learn to cater to these wants. I remember when we were younger, if you had a Blackberry, you were considered cool. Now, it’s all about the brand new iPhone or Galaxy. Times change, interests change, demands change, and these factors are what businesses need to take into consideration when launching a new product.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting article that brought up a cool topic. To be honest I had totally forgotten that Blackberry's even existed. Obviously, the Blackberry demand has drastically decreased and that is just going to continue to drive their price down until there is no point of even making the phone anymore. You are totally right with stating that competition is key. Apple and Samsung are close substitutes to the Blackberry, and since Blackberry is not improving the consumer is going to switch to the better product. I thought it was interesting how you brought up the Dell example and compared the two. Overall, this is a really fascinating piece that truly shows how the economy is driven by competition with one another.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, Blackberry. The company that was the leader of the pre-smart phone era is now almost non-existent. I love technology news because now days it’s all about what the average consumer wants. Blackberry was once the king, well, the king to most business people who wanted a reliable phone to help them in their busy lives, there was no doubt that it was such a huge success, but the company had made an enormous mistake by not looking into how far the smart phone trend has changed. Now we have all of these high tech gadgets that you can unlock with your fingerprint and detect your face at all times, it’s clear that Blackberry made it late to the party. It’s a real tragedy that such a business, so strong with it’s consumers just a couple of years ago is now sitting here and thinking why many people are not interested in their products. It is all about consumer preferences these days, by looking at competitors like Samsung and Apple; it makes sense why they are leading the sales and charts of the smart phone industry. These companies had done their research with the people to bring the latest in technology and software. It is something that Blackberry has failed to impress us. When they had finally released their new phones, while they were good, they were leagues away from the competition. Blackberry better pull an eye opener in their next products if they want to take back their fans and their sales.
ReplyDeleteIt's really odd to think that not even ten years ago I had a Blackberry and thought it was the coolest thing and now they hold less than 3% of the smartphone market. What you mentioned in your post about competition being key to the survival of a company is really true and Blackberry can serve as the perfect example. But maybe not all of the blame for the downfall of that major company can be put on it's executives; the consumers have a say in the market too. Consumer taste and expectation was probably the biggest factor that changed the game with Blackberry, for even though they were keeping up with their own standards of production, the buyers were expecting something more and drastically different. Thus the quantity of Blackberry products decreased and Apple and Samsung increased their quantities demanded.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to think that such a powerful company like this can just be run out of business like that; and it's all because of a little bit of competition. If they just kept up with the new technology and maybe even spent a little extra money on advancing it a little bit, there would be no problem for them. Instead, they will probably end up going bankrupt.
ReplyDeleteThis really just goes to show the "Join or Die" ideology and how it relates to competition. It's astonishing to think that a company that was doing so well is falling apart so quickly. Apple was able to outlast and surpass the competition through its high product output and higher quality products, which truly states that it is not an inferior good, the blackberry is.
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