BlackBerry's Survival depends on Content Provider Partnerships

If BlackBerry hopes to be around in five years and not end up as another Palm – they need to do a radical rethink of their business model.  BlackBerry is not going out of business and it will be healthy for the next few years – but their USP is all but gone.

My recommendation is that BlackBerry focus soley on the Business market – let the other players fight it out for the tweens and hockey moms.  But in doing so, they need to recognize that they are not a content company and never will be.  Once they get over that herdle, look for partnerships to provide media content to their user base.  Lets face it, business users want music and movies as well.  As crazy as it may sound – maybe even work with an iTunes or other similar content like storefront.  BlackBerry will take their cut – and let other players negotiate with Metallica for distribution rights.

This will allow them to keep their customers happy with the fluff that most people want – and lets the company focus on it’s strengths.  Win – Win.

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