RIM can weather the initial PlayBook storm

Although RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook is late to market and is receiving a range of positive notices and negative reviews, RIM has the benefit of a large and loyal user base. Don’t underestimate PlayBook interest in your enterprise just yet.

Apple extends iPads beyond iPhone users

A recent ComScore report suggests that more than 72 percent of iPad owners don’t own an iPhone. As ComScore claims, “Apple iPad ownership extends beyond just fanboys.” This, of course, is a great opportunity for Apple to grow its customer base in the smartphone and perhap even laptop or personal computer arenas.

[ Read InfoWorld’s review of the RIM PlayBook. | Get the latest insights and news on open source trends with InfoWorld’s Technology: Open Source newsletter. Subscribe today! ]

At the other end of the spectrum, RIM’s PlayBook is decidedly focused on existing RIM customers, at least initially. To say these customers are, by and large, loyal to RIM would be a huge understatement.

According to ComScore’s data, 17.5 percent of iPad users have a RIM smartphone. These are customers, like me, whom RIM is more likely to lose when they decide to purchase a new smartphone. As I’ve said before, the only thing that keeps me a BlackBerry customer is BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). I’m not upgrading to a new BlackBerry for fear that RIM will announce BBM is available on an iPhone or Android device.

Excluding turncoats like myself, you can extrapolate from the ComScore data that upward of 80 percent of RIM smartphone customers have yet to make a tablet purchase decision, and they could be swayed by the PlayBook or a future version of the device. Yes, some within this 80 percent have the option of selecting an Android tablet, but there’s little that would convince a RIM smartphone user to choose an Android tablet over an iPad. Said differently, if RIM smartphone users are going to select a non-RIM tablet, chances are they’ll select an iPad.

RIM selling into the loyal 80 percent

For argument’s sake, let’s talk about this 80 percent of existing RIM smartphone customers and their plans for a tablet.

A friend of mine won a PlayBook through RIM’s launch party contest in Toronto. She was able to bring three friends to the party, and I was one of them. Among the approximately 200 to 250 attendees, I counted two non-RIM smartphones during the three hours we were at the event. Everyone else had a BlackBerry and was feverishly BBMing, Facebooking, or updating their Twitter status throughout the night.

After using several PlayBook devices through the course of the evening and comparing them with my iPad 2, I would say that the PlayBook software needs a little more time. This is not to suggest that the OS or browser is poor in quality. However, both are lacking the fit and finish that a few more weeks of development would have afforded.

I am purposely not describing the issues I found. Why? Well, this is not a review of the PlayBook, and in any event I’d expect them to be resolved in the next software updates.

What’s more important is that my friends at the event, others using the device at the event, and even BlackBerry-toting friends and colleagues who had yet to touch the PlayBook appear willing to look past the issues. Lucky for RIM, these prospective buyers aren’t drawn to the iPad 2 either. Trust me: I’ve tried to preach the virtues of the iPad to my RIM-loving friends and colleagues, to little avail. The reality distortion field that RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie once described around Apple and Apple products may in fact be cropping up around RIM and the PlayBook.

At the Toronto PlayBook launch event, one user was wowed by the HD video capture and playback, which frankly put the iPad 2 to shame. Another couldn’t get over how fast the browser was. Another colleague cited the recent revelation of iOS’s tracking of user location as “just another reason I’m more likely to buy a PlayBook than an iPad.” Finally, to my surprise, many RIM smartphone users I’ve spoken to prefer the smaller size of the PlayBook. For all the negative reviews about the PlayBook, BlackBerry smartphone users are still quite impressed with the device.

Whether they’ll purchase version 1.0 or wait for a future release is an open question. Yes, it’s unlikely that the PlayBook will draw in new customers to the RIM franchise, at least initially. However, keep in mind that RIM enjoys well over 50 million BlackBerry owners.

Don’t count the PlayBook out just yet

After talking with several RIM staffers from the development team and developer outreach program, I left the event much more confident in RIM’s future than when I arrived. RIM is also doing more with open source, which I’ll cover in a follow-up post.

While nobody said it in so many words, the RIM employees expressed a real sense of pride and scrappiness in what they’ve delivered and what’s coming, whether in the form of software updates or a PlayBook 2.

The vast majority of RIM’s 50 million-plus customers are eagerly waiting as well. Some will surely purchase the current PlayBook and want to bring it into the enterprise, especially if they are travelers.

Enterprises may be reluctant to adopt the initial PlayBook. However, the solid hardware specs mean that the PlayBook — when it has updated software — will be a great tablet for some time to come.

Follow me on Twitter at SavioRodrigues. I should state: “The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies, or opinions.”

This article, “RIM can weather the initial PlayBook storm,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Savio Rodrigues’ Open Sources blog and follow the latest developments in open source at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.