I attended the Canadian Telecom Summit yesterday, and, during the Q&A after his keynote address, Research in Motion (RIM) Co-CEO John Balsillie was asked the dreaded question: what do you think about the iPhone, and are you worried that its “revolutionary” new interface will resonate better with consumers than RIMs? Balsillie’s ballsy answer? “Apple is just one more entrant into this huge market.” Balsillie feels pretty confident about the Blackberry's approx. 55-60% market share, and rightfully so. He even mused that the iconic device has not only made him look forward to red lights and longer 
bathroom breaks, but has also “liberated people from boring meetings”.
I have to agree with him: with respect to his confidence in RIMs grasp on the market, that is, not the red lights and bathroom breaks. The Blackberry has become such a universal term (just like the iPod!) that it would be tough to penetrate the kind of hold it has achieved on the market, whether you're Apple, Nokia, or any player in the arena, for that matter. In his introductory speech, KPMG’s Peter Doyle mused that running a “Google” search for the word “blackberry”, will generate 48,700,000 responses, none of which have to do with the fruit for which the word was previously known. He also informed the audience that, in 2006, the Webster’s dictionary named “crackberry” as the word of the year. How do you like them…blackberries? It’s a success story unlike any other, short of Apple’s own iPod. Ironically, Apple will now find itself on the other side of the coin, fighting for market share in an area for which it has never been associated.
It was refreshing to hear Balsillie’s response to the inevitable iPhone question. He was confident, but not cocky. In fact, he actually went on to praise Apple for recognizing a music player as a software application on a phone, and not just as a standalone device.
Balsillie did admit that wireless is a tough business to penetrate, and noted that, no matter how funky an interface, what really matters is what you can actually do with a device. He’s certainly got that right. As the old adage goes, it’s what’s inside that counts. Both the Blackberry and iPhone pack a lot of punch, so let’s see how this race develops.
Apple’s iPhone will hit the U.S. market on June 29.
