SOBERING UP

Image: Daniel Y. Go, Flickr

FROM CRACKBERRY

For nearly a decade, BlackBerry has

revolutionized mobile productivity and

dominated the smartphone market.

Image: Orangeya, Flickr

Image: loveroni, Flickr

Though considered a luxury smartphone (priced higher than many other smartphones), BlackBerry still maintained a leading market share.

Source: The Nielson Company

In November of 2009, BlackBerry commanded a whopping 40% market share of the recent acquirers of smartphones

Image: ^M.w, Flickr

Consumers were attracted to BlackBerry’s advanced security.

Image: ilamont.com, Flickr

And its email capability.

And its unique BlackBerry Messenger.

Image: Buthaina, Flickr

However, the 40% market share of recent acquirers of smartphones dropped to a mere 20% in December of 2010.

Source: The Nielson Company

Where did BlackBerry’s market share go?

Image: fd, Flickr

Android-based phones have poached BlackBerry’s market share, fiscal quarter after fiscal quarter.

Source: The Nielson Company

BlackBerry’s competitive advantage no longer applied to the smartphone market as Android phones increasingly provided state-of-the-art capabilities.

Image: Phil Roeder, Flickr

In the first quarter of 2011, 36.2 million Android phones were sold, which equaled 36% of the smartphone market.

BlackBerry only snatched 13% of the market during this quarter.

Source: Gartner

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The first quarter of 2011 is also a tipping point. The amount of Android users finally surpassed the amount of BlackBerry users.

Source: TG Daily

29%

27%

Amount of Android users vs. BlackBerry users

Source: TG Daily

Image: John Catral, Flickr

Source: The Nielson Company

The smartphone market is booming. Android is capitalizing the growth. BlackBerry is not.

Image: Pilot Ian | Photography, Flickr

Such a decline in BlackBerry’s sales comes as no surprise.

There is an increasing desire for Android phones and a decreasing desire for BlackBerries amongst consumers.

Source: The Nielson Company

The desire for a BlackBerry is even low amongst current BlackBerry users.

Source: The Nielson Company

Source: The Nielson Company

Source: The Nielson Company

Source: The Nielson Company

Image: Computman, Flickr

Consumer interest in BlackBerry has dropped across all demographics.

Image: Robert S. Donovan, Flickr

But…

Why???

Image: Cisco Pics, Flickr

Because companies are increasingly securitizing employee’s phone of choice, rendering BlackBerry’s leading security program irrelevant.

Image: phillsacre, Flickr

Because BlackBerries no longer lead the innovation curve, as Android phones can now host email, internet, and GPS better and faster.

Image: gp sachs [à Montréal], Flickr

Because Android is a better platform operating system for users to add advanced apps for everyday purposes and gaming.

Image: Edlimagno, Flickr

And because BlackBerry has released a string of disappointing products, such as Torch.

Image: Roozbeh Rokni, Flickr

In the every-changing, volatile smartphone market, it is all about the next BIG product. BlackBerry was once an example. However, it can be again, if

BlackBerry caters to the smart users of the smartphone era.