[tweetmeme source=LANSystems only_single=false]Last week’s Blackberry outage has caused lots of withdrawal pains. The blogs and message boards are filled with comments defending and vilifying Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry’s creator. Network interruptions are inevitable as we have seen with Sony, Google, Microsoft and Netflix. Someday we may have uninterruptible networks, but the departure or threatened departure from Blackberry seems to be more about the availability of multimedia, cooler mobile devices than a network disruption.
For years Blackberry has been the choice in mobile devices for corporations. You can argue that this is because they are more secure because of how RIM handles encryption or the limitation of online features. Certainly iPhone and Android users can be more social online because their devices support many more apps. They can access Facebook, Tweet, Farmville and Angry Birds from anywhere that they have a signal. The available apps make it easy to stay connected. But with the convenience of being online all the time, some sacrifices are made in being secure. If you want a real scare, google “mobile device hacking” and read some of the recent hacking successes and access your vulnerability.
It really comes down to which device you are most comfortable with and how easily you can change. Corporations like Blackberry for many reasons including solid systems and the ability to regulate users. Often corporations don’t change their infrastructure because of the expense of installing new equipment and training employees to use and support the new system. Rationale always states the benefits of one technology over the other to support the choice, but equal arguments can be made for practically any technology choice.
As interesting and amusing as it is to read the comments from the technology aficionados, it is as important to balance the arguments with facts. Facts may not change the product choices we make – that’s a subject for another blog – some products will win and others will lose based completely on preference and little on the superior technology. Blackberry once led the pack but is now struggling for market share in a sea of products that offer more. The loyal followers of Apple and Google are happy to share their opinions on why their choice is the best and the features that make mobility fun and efficient.
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