When we think of products, we think of tangible materials in which we, the consumer, can purchase or exchange something for. Products are in our day-to-day lives and some we even depend on for use throughout. One product that has undoubtedly become a part of this class of products is the cellular phone. Cellar phones, when first introduced, we for business men and woman and people on the go. It was not a device for the everyday American. When, in the late 90’s and 00’s, phone’s started becoming “necessity” that is when Blackberry make some important Product decisions.
Everything is important when it comes to product. First and foremost: the product itself. The product has to be able to perform and live up to the expectation of the consumer. An expectation made, of course, by none other than the marketer. Blackberry has done a good job at this and continues to develop new products; another facet of the company.
Product modification is important for several reasons. One, the product may in fact not be what research and development thought and fail connecting with customers. Second, the product may be great, but one or two features and functions may be outdated, required a modification. With Blackberry, most recently, this was done with the release and modification of the trackball.
The trackball was the one feature about Blackberry that set it apart. No other device had the trackball and a user –or non-user- knew it was a Blackberry in their possession. The problem, however, is that the trackball feature to navigate on the phone was not durable and many customers complained. After quite some time, in early 2008, Blackberry released the TrackPad and revolutionized the Blackberry once again.
Research in Motion has also extended their product line to include, besides mobile devices, the new Blackberry PlayBook tablet. Many technology professionals and industry insiders anticipate the release of the tablet and see if it says what is says it can do. We’ll see now won’t we? I think it’s a great feat to release the tablet in economic uncertain times, but also, in a market that has been lead by Apple (Ipad) and Barnes and Noble (Nook) since the craze started. This release will create a new product line, and new glimpse into the future at Blackberry. Thank you, Research in Motion.
