Sour Berries?

By Laura A. Locke

Suddenly the market for BlackBerrys isn't quite so sweet. The handheld device--made by Research in Motion (RIM), which pioneered on-the-go e-mail in 1999--is facing stiff competition from a brambly bunch determined to break the BlackBerry's monopoly. In July, Motorola and Microsoft took aim with their wireless e-mail phone, called Q, which will hit stores early next year. Motorola is also rolling out an iTunes phone with Apple. That's more bad news for RIM. Because the BlackBerry is mainly limited to e-mail on its proprietary platform, many execs are switching to smart phones like Palm's Treo that run content-rich software from start-up Good Technology. "The BlackBerry is all work, no play," says ThinkEquity analyst Pablo Perez-Fernandez. "Do you really want to carry multiple devices if you can carry one?" Good, which has grown its subscriber base 50% over the past six months, lets customers access e-mail on a variety of operating systems and mobile devices; Cingular and Sprint have already signed on. Jittery investors have driven RIM's stock down 15% this year. Still, BlackBerry season isn't over. RIM is trying to maintain its dominance by licensing its software to mobile-phone makers using different operating systems. "This isn't game breaking," says RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie. --By Laura A. Locke