BlackBerry's New Storm and the Coolness Factor

Whether we freely admit it or not, the decision to buy a certain cell phone is a complicated equation that involves the phone's capabilities, its carrier, its price -- and the phone's image. At the high end, especially, a cell phone signals something about your identity -- the way driving a certain car signals your identity. 

Over the past five years, a few different phone makers have jostled for the image of offering THE cool phone. Motorola (MOT) had the RAZR, but that faded. Palm's (PALM) Treo took the spot for a while. For the image of "serious business person," RIM's (RIMM) BlackBerry captured and held the top cool spot through most of the past five years.

Now something interesting seems to be going on. Since the moment it came out, Apple's (AAPL) iPhone has knocked all pretenders off the hill and taken the position as the phone that announces that you are cool. At first, though, it mostly did this for consumers. In general, business people couldn't at first use it for corporate e-mail, which disqualified the iPhone from being the coolest business phone. I see that changing, though. Business users are increasingly getting iPhones, and iPhones increasingly are seen as part of a business identity.

The BlackBerry image has largely stayed on the business side. The Curve and other models have edged into consumer markets, but they've never really been phones that announce your identity as a cool, with-it kind of person. This week, BlackBerry unveiled its Storm phone, which is not just an iPhone imitator but tries to go a couple steps beyond the iPhone with, for instance, its spring-loaded touch screen.

It seems that BlackBerry is on the verge of migrating from coolest business phone to contender for coolest consumer phone, while iPhone is moving from coolest consumer phone to challenger for coolest business phone. (Again, we're talking image -- not necessarily the actualities of what the phones can do.) 

Every other phone maker has pretty much dropped to the second tier of coolness -- Moto, Samsung, LG. HTC's new phone based on Google's (GOOG) Android is right now more of a curiosity. Most people are a bit wary of an operating system with no track record on a phone using T-Mobile's sketchy U.S. network. 

So I think we've got a great two-way battle going at the top end of coolness: iPhone vs. BlackBerry. If the two companies are smart about it, they might own this top position for years to come.

Comments

[kris23:]

I'm not sure how many more times we're going to hear about a new iPhone competitor. The Storm is an awesome phone, which at some levels, does look to compete with the iPhone, but I have always felt that Blackeberrys, in general, appeal to a different crowd. You may say the "business" crowd it appeals to is not so "cool" but I beg to differ. There are PLENTY of students, kids, young adults, adults that use any type of BB because of its "businessy" appeal. There is essentially a cool factor in looking like a professional- your smart, busy, and savy.

2008 Oct 09 03:17 PM

[MH:]

I agree with the person above
I attend Parsons School of Design and pretty much EVERYONE owns a blackberry, and eventually go back to the blackberry after their usage with the iphone, and well, least to say, we're really young and hip trendy cool kids.

2008 Oct 09 03:48 PM

[slackadelic:]

I'm still cooler with my iPhone - dumba$$

2008 Oct 09 04:19 PM

[slackadelic:]

I'm still cooler with my iPhone - dumba$$

2008 Oct 09 04:19 PM

[chano:]

I was really young and hip trendy cool once. Sheesh! Don't want to go back there.
BB Storm will prove itself only in a teacup.

2008 Oct 09 04:20 PM

[Hayweed:]

This article is so lame. When did the blackberry get cool except in New York. Most blackberries built before last year look like crap. When apple announced the iphone, Rimm stepped up (copied) the look with some metal/chrome styling. But the phones have remained the same since the pearl and curve came out. Everyone is hyped up on Bold, Pearl Flip, and the Storm, but you can't get them in the US. Why? Problems with the phone pure and simple. Thus if you want to be cool get an iphone. If you want to be a beta tester get a new Rimm product if they ever come out.

Lastly, anyone see the Verizon storm commerical. Did you see the screenshot of the storm. No you didn't because it is not ready. Vodaphone did show an iphone display that was photoshopped. The racecar driver with the storm showed the verizon multimedia presentation. That was so canned. Coolness can not be manipulated, so dream on.

2008 Oct 09 05:18 PM

[califfilm:]

@self proclaimed "really young and hip trendy cool kids" , i'm pretty much surrounded by xtremely talented and successful media/music types in huge urban area and never heard one of them (us) self describe as y.h.t.c.kids...usually only an older dude online does that as it's not cool

2008 Oct 10 11:10 AM

[brewer:]

iPhone is the real deal. Blackberry is trying to copy that. But, the thing about 'cool' is that it can't be copied, because copying someone else is fundamentally NOT cool. If RIM was cool, THEY would have invented the iPhone, not a clunky, fat, wanna-be version, 18 months (oh, it's STILL not ready? Two years then?) later.

2008 Oct 10 12:06 PM