Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) needs something spectacular. Something mind-blowing. Something Verizon (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T) and every last mobile infrastructure provider for small and large businesses alike can put in a PowerPoint presentation and say, “This BlackBerry is the device you need in your pocket. Not an iPhone. Not an Android. This.”
RIM is trading just above $24 as of this writing, meaning it has shed all of the value it built up between 2005 and today. At its peak, RIM was trading above $144. What does it have up its sleeve to scale back up to those lofty heights? Can a new lineup of so-called 4G smartphones do the trick?
RIM and AT&T put out a press release Wednesday morning announcing the next generation of the BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Bold phones. Releasing before the end of the month, the new smartphones pack a laundry list of specifications that should make it impressive to surviving BlackBerry enthusiasts.
The Torch 9810 is compatible with AT&T’s HSPA+ network, which means that it can process data faster and allow both companies to brand it as a “4G” device (even if that label carries little meaning or cache with consumers). The device sports an improved processor, between 4GB and 8GB of flash memory, and it runs on BlackBerry 7 OS, the latest version of the company’s custom operating system. The press release also promises an all-touchscreen version of the new Torch for later this year.
The refresh of the BlackBerry Bold line wasn’t detailed in the release, but Engadget (via Daily Tech) said its specifications fall in line with the new Torch and, by comparison, Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) current iPhone.
That’s the problem, though: Being technically as good as the iPhone isn’t enough. Not even if RIM undercuts Apple on price by half. RIM’s problem at this point isn’t functionality but individuality.
BlackBerry smartphones have apps, they have useful business tools, they have computational horsepower, and now they are compatible with U.S. telecoms’ speedier wireless networks. None of these facts distinguish the BlackBerry line from any number of Android phones made by HTC, Samsung or Motorola (NYSE:MMI), let alone Apple’s cultural behemoth. The shallow, unavoidable truth is BlackBerry needs something to make it cool, or at least useful, and seeing as how the phrase 4G means very little to most smartphone users, these new phones won’t help the company win any battles in the back half of 2011.
As of now, the new BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Bold are going to be in a quiet slap fight with Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Microsoft‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) new Windows Phone 7 devices going into the holiday season. Both companies will be grasping at the scraps left by Apple and Google’s manufacturing partners. Whichever survives will then have the opportunity to better define their place in the smartphone market of 2012 and beyond.
Even if RIM beats Nokia this fall, however, it still needs to find a way to distinguish its products in what has become one of the most viciously competitive technology markets yet.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.
