That's funny, I work at a large corporation and they don't give a crap if I want a camera or mp3 player. They'll give you whatever's been approved.

I wasn't talking about you, specifically, or what your corporation wants/approves. I am talking about overall consumer demand. It is called change. Times are changing and those who can adjust to the changes are the one who survive.

But you said specifically, "business customers". I'm a business customer and most of us can't pick and choose which device the corporation gives us.

Has RIM lost some market share, yes. Was it because their devices weren't, "hip"? Doubtful. In the overall scope of things, RIM hasn't lost much ground in the corporate and government sectors, which is their bread and butter.

I think that RIM sees that INDIVIDUALS are now demanding more and more data services. And to get these consumers to buy RIM devices, they'll need to add in multimedia capabilities to their devices.

You're are correct though, companies who fail to change with the times, typically fail.

My wording was strong, if not combative, but I don't disagree with you. My point about business customers is that as they get younger and eventually begin to make the decisions at these corporations, those rules might or will become relaxed, but obviously this will not happen in the immediate future. I also agree that the corporate and government sectors are owned by RIM, but in time that too might change. RIM is preparing for that.

Still, do not want to confuse my comments for endorsing camera phones per se. I just know that they are popular and (likely) here to stay. I prefer to use a phone that doesn't have a camera. I can, however, see the need for Wi-Fi and expandable memory. I actually think RIM should release two versions: a camera and a non-camera version. It is just that I disagree with the notion that RIM should also include such multimedia features in their devices (as a choice) and, thus, garner new customers. It's called "different strokes for different folks," and this is why they should release a camera and a non-camera version. I think it would faulty for them to just release a camera version; though they are perhaps targeting a different audience with this device.

I think when everything's said and done, only the suretype devices will see cameras and other multimedia functionality. We may see a qwerty device or two but, in the long run, I don't think many of them will sell.

I also think the joystick will be for consumer devices-only. I wouldn't be surprised if RIM kept releasing business oriented Blackberries with scrollwheels.

...that's probably not a bad strategy at all.

I don't think you'll ever see corporate rules relaxed to allow more camera phone flexibility. Competitive advantage today won't allow it. What can be considered confidential is a blurry line these days. Some businesses won't even allow USB thumbdrives in the door. Just wait until they figure out that you can use your phone and a USB cable as a storage medium.

september 18th- tmobile launch date

late october- cingy launch date

nope, the roller ball works pretty well

If RIM stays true to its innovations and following, no Palm or Moto or Nokia device will steal sales. To me, the 8700c has that perfect BB magic. They need to make a more robust OS, add expandable memory, give a camera option, 3G AND stick with the QWERTY keypads!

if RIM keeps moving in this direction, I maybe convinced to finally try out a blackberry.

RIM does need to diversify their product line but we're already seeing this taking place. Obviously they're working on things as it wasn't long ago that people said that you would never see a camera or memory cards on a Blackberry. Obviously, that's not true any more.

The one thing RIM does need to keep in mind is that its business customers expect a reliable and sturdy device. There are already plenty of Treos out there for the rest.

SureType is a lot better than T9. First of all, there's only two letters per key, so the software doesn't have to guess as much as T9. Second, the software is smarter than T9 to begin with so you get overall much better results.

Boy Genius over at Blackberryforums.com posted some pretty nice comparative pics and I thought some people here would like to see them.

Link to the thread

Here's the pics:

It looks like this blackberry will also be PTT enabled!!