Edible Apple

By Luis Estrada:

Ben Brooks over at The Brooks Review has a short but telling post up highlighting the lack of innovation over at RIM. Sure, their devices have grown by leaps and bounds in terms of functionality, but by and large, their bread and butter is and remains email. And in today’s age of multipurpose devices, RIM is still struggling to convince users that their devices are capable of so much more.

At the end of the day, though, if email isn’t your top priority, there really isn’t a compelling reason to get a BlackBerry device.

To that end, Brooks posts a photo of first RIM devices (a pager) and RIM’s latest device, the BlackBerry Bold Touch.

Comparing the two photos, Brooks writes, “that’s called iteration, not innovation.”

Of course, it’s not as if the latest from RIM is a complete dud. But the fact remains that despite added goodies like NFC support and a touchscreen (on a small display no less), RIM’s devices don’t offer attractive propositions to current BlackBerry owners looking for a reason not to migrate to the iPhone or Android, and certainly aren’t compelling for users who already own non-RIM smartphones. And let’s be clear, the latest BlackBerry does have some nice features, including a 5 megapixel camera and 720p HD video recording. But at the same time, most smartphones on the market sport those very same features.

The release and subsequent thrashing of the RIM PlayBook highlights that RIM is desperately struggling to stay afloat in a market that’s increasingly passing them by. Though they still have a dedicated and entrenched user base, they haven’t shown the savvy to attract new customers (aside from buy 1 get one free deals) that’s now required to keep pace with major players like Apple and Motorola.