Marketing and all things related

Research In Motion (RIM) is launching its third generation smartphone, the BlackBerry Bold.  Should Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) be worried?  Is the iPhone being threatened?  Let's take a look at the new BlackBerry Bold and try to decide.

The new BlackBerry Bold comes with a ton of features such as a 1G memory, faster download processing, MS Office Go Suite compatibility, integrated GPS, Wi-Fi, the most vivid display ever on a BlackBerry, a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capability, and a media player for watching movies and managing music collections. 

RIM (NASDAQ: RIMM) has also announced a new partnership with Microsoft that will provide Microsoft Live services like instant messaging and email on the BlackBerry and a new Facebook application designed specifically for the BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry Bold is priced between $300-$400, and AT&T is the main carrier.

What do you think?  Should Apple be concerned?  Will the BlackBerry Bold steal market share from Apple's iPhone?

I'm going to have to guess that if the BlackBerry Bold steals market share from Apple's iPhone, it won't be a significant amount.  Here's why.  The BlackBerry brand is most closely associated with business, corporations, executives, etc.  The Apple brand is most closely associated with "the people".  It's every person's brand.  From it's product design to it's advertising, Apple is the user-friendly, societal brand that everyone wants to be a part of.  BlackBerry needs to change its brand image from all-business to retail-friendly before Apple needs to feel particularly threatened. 

It seems to be that given the choice between an Apple and a BlackBerry with similar features in a retail store, most people will choose the Apple for the branding reasons discussed above.  Unless the BlackBerry introduces features that truly set it apart in the minds of customers in the retail segment, people are more likely to select the "relationship brand". 

Of course, the smartphone market is a hot one, so it's only a matter of time until the next high-powered version comes along to shake things up a bit more.

You can read the opposite view point on this topic with recent updates on my branding blog, Brandcurve.com.