- by Michael del Castillo
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| Leaked photos of the BlackBerry Z10. It's not just the giants who want the device's market share. Three startups have stepped up to the plate |
Tomorrow is BlackBerry’s big day. After years of delays, stock drops (and rises), mockery, and near hopelessness, the phone’s maker Research in Motion, is going to officially reveal two new phones and an operating system. But in spite of some glowing reviews about how the new BlackBerry Z10 stacks up against traditional competitors like Apple and Samsung, and Microsoft, it's not just the behemoths out for BlackBerry blood.
“We’re guessing all RIM needs to do is to play its cards just right to be able to make the BlackBerry 10 a successful smartphone OS,” reported Aiswarya Gopan of TechThirsty. "It may just be powerful enough to win back some of its loyal customers who have moved on to iPhones, Android phones, or maybe even Windows Phone based smartphones."
And it’s not just the OS that’s getting good reviews, with Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz yesterday calling the phone "hot" and acknowledging that based on how the OS ends up performing, he would "totally snatch one up."
Unfortunately, In the latest fiscal third quarter, RIM's profit fell to $9 million from $265 million, and global BlackBerry subscribers fell by 1 million, to 79 million—the first time total subscribers has ever fallen, according to the Wall Street Journal.
To make things even more daunting for the 29-year-old Waterloo, Ontario-based company, it’s not just the old guard going after its dwindling market share. These three mobile-management specialists, all mentioned in the Journal report, are also going for BlackBerry’s jugular.
http://upstart.bizjournals.com/news/technology/2013/01/29/3-startup-competitors-for-blackberry.html