Where are the new BlackBerrys? This is the question I’ve been getting for more than a month now. At the beginning of January the electronics industry gathered in Las Vegas to showcase their new innovations for 2010 and RIM was there, but without a new smartphone. This week, the cellphone industry has gathered in Barcelona, Spain to showcase their new cellphone products and again, RIM is there, but without a new smartphone. Instead the company has announced updates for their existing BlackBerrys – a new web browser, a Twitter client – and is selling the idea that their tried-and-true BlackBerry, unchanged, will eventually win out no matter what the competition brings.

Mike Lazaridis, Co-founder, Chief Co-Executive, RIM

The Capacity Crunch

Is it spin? Mike Lazaridis, founder and chief co-executive of Research In Motion warns that the wireless industry is headed towards a “capacity crunch” where the demand for cellular internet access will go beyond what the networks can support. “The bottom line is all the carriers will run out of capacity within the next three to five years” he says in an interview with the London Telegraph. “By being thoughtful with our applications, we are enabling them to get better value out of their networks, that's good for them and their shareholders.”

For years industry experts and analysts have been warning of such crunches, in some cases predicting all out crashes of both traditional internet networks as well as cellular-based ones. As CTV’s tech specialist I find myself having to respond to such claims, year after year, through our reporting and have yet to see any slowing down of internet services. In 2005 I appeared on CTV Newsnet to discuss a recent report that proclaimed the industry in trouble, that if a video-based service were to launch as rumoured, the network would crash. Weeks later YouTube launched, followed by Google Video, Revver, Vimeo, and many other video-sharing networks, without any impact on the net. Like many predictions made concerning technology, those that warn of demand outstripping capability tend to fall short.

By recalling these often-carried fears of the industry, Lazaridis isn’t warning of a crash, but merely pointing out that as internet demand rises, wireless carriers will be forced to invest more in their networks, and that as long as the BlackBerry remains popular in use, that pressure is lowered because of its efficiency.”BlackBerrys are the only devices to work during moments of crisis” Lazaridis tells the London Telegraph. “There's a reason for that – the BlackBerry is five times more efficient in terms of email and has a much longer battery life”

So instead of a new BlackBerry, the company has unveiled a new web browser, one based on the same WebKit “engine” used by Apple, Google, and Palm for their mobile browsers, that will deliver a faster browsing experience, but also one that will support that focus on network efficiency by using just one-third of the bandwidth capacity of the competitors.

Apps Not The Main Focus?

RIM’s BlackBerry App World, an online store that delivers downloadable apps for the newest BlackBerrys, has been trailing in selection behind Apple’s iTunes App Store and Google’s Android Market. In addition to a new BlackBerry, many were hoping to see the company announce innovations that would help increase the selection of apps designed for RIM’s products. Instead the company has suggested that the rise of apps is transforming today’s smartphones into data-hungry devices that are straining the capabilities of networks. Lazaridis says his company will not be distracted by the popularity of mobile games and novelty apps and will focus on delivering applications that offer efficiency. RIM’s view of the market conflicts not only with the App-rich strategies of Apple and Google, but also Microsoft who at the same event this week unveiled a new cellphone platform with Windows Phone that, like the competition, will be able to download and run applications.

Popular Amongst Teen Girls

RIM says that when they launch new applications, the focus will always be on efficiency and communication. Lazaridis cites the efficiency of their messaging system as one of the reasons why his company is finding a growing popularity for their smartphones amongst teens, especially girls.

“Lots of younger people are using BlackBerry Messenger and Facebook capability on these devices” he tells the Telegraph, suggesting that they are drawn by both the speed of using a physical keyboard as well as the free cost of exchanging messages with BlackBerry Messenger. These are the factors the company says wins out, not the flash.

To show how this focus works, the company is releasing their own Twitter for BlackBerry client next month that is integrated with BlackBerry Messenger, allowing users to compose and respond to tweets as well as receive Direct Messages through their messaging service. RIM will still react to rising trends in the market, but still focus on the core values that have served them since the beginning.