Despite Research In Motion's attempts to revitalize their BlackBerry line (seen in current and rumored devices as of late), the manufacturer may not be doing enough to keep users on its platform. In a study conducted by Crowd Science, two out of every five BlackBerry users (40 percent) plan to swap their BlackBerry device for an iPhone when their service agreement ends.
Once assumed that the primary BlackBerry customers were businesspeople, Crowd Science's findings prove otherwise. One percent of iPhone users and seven percent of BlackBerry users use their device exclusively for business purposes; 33 percent of iPhone users and 16 percent of BlackBerry users use their device exclusively for personal purposes; and 66 percent of iPhone users and 77 percent of BlackBerry users use their device for both purposes. It's not just the iPhone, either: 32 percent of BlackBerry users surveyed said that they would swap their device for an Android-powered Nexus One.
In a statement, Crowd Science CEO John Martin had the following to say:
"These results show that the restlessness of BlackBerry users with their current brand hasn't just been driven by the allure of iPhone. Rather, BlackBerry as a brand just isn't garnering the loyalty seen with other mobile operating systems."
Unfortunately, this is something that I had assumed for quite some time, so it's interesting to see it in a survey. That being said, the margin of the survey is +/-10 percent, so it could be less than 40 percent. Even so, 30 percent (assuming the 10 percent error is valid) is just under a third of BlackBerry users. And the revolt appears to be a one-sided one, as 90 percent of iPhone and Android users plan to stick with their current OS at upgrade time.
RIM continues to maintain a solid reputation for messaging, e-mail, and exchange support, but is in need of an update to compete with the current OSs on the market. BlackBerry owners, how do you feel about this? Are you planning a switch when your upgrade date approaches?