Quote from Anaconda:
Please, the only business people you know are wanna bees. As I have said, this is 2009 not 2006.
A smartphone is just a phone with a gimped contact list, organizer, email & Internet access. The top line PDAs were able to do some basic document work as well, although gimped. If you're serious, you don't need gimped access. Your average middle class worker does not NEED a smartphone.
This is what any REAL traveling business person actually needs, IF he/she actually needs something : http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10240622-94.html. Not a toy that pretends to be a computer.
The primary demographic for RIMM has always been the finance industry. Those are the high profit margin PDA phones. And those were paid for by the companies, not individuals. Those days are over.
You keep imagining that there is some secret hidden demand for these toys. The reality is that any individuals & companies that truly need them already have them. I know people who have high end Blackberrys, they have had them for years and they do not pay retail price for the new RIMM products. The Blackberry Curve 8900 is getting around, because mobile carriers are practically giving them away with a contract.
Gimped contact list, organize, email & internet?! Have you not been to the Apple or RIMM app store? These smartphones can literally do just about anything a computer can do! I recently downloaded an app on my Blackberry that allows me to get yardage information etc. on THOUSANDS of golf courses. This is one example. Consider also GPS (essential for roadtrips), the ability to TRADE on your smartphone, the list goes on and on. Not to mention consumer oriented apps that deal with music, video, etc. etc.
The primary demographic for smartphones <b>used to be</b> the finance industry. Consumers are now the primary demographic, which is a huge demographic. Every single high school kid will bug mommy and daddy for a smartphone in the very near future, if it's not happening already.
