Small, shiny, slick, sleek and stylish.
The new BlackBerry Pearl, which hit stores in the US on 12
September, is all of those things, coupled with similar
functionality to the clunky BlackBerrys of yore.
There's no doubt among some mobile experts that top execs and
end users are going to crave the hot little device. But the
introduction of these new toys-as-business-tools creates an
interesting paradigm: End users will want them and mobile managers
won't want to support them.
Linking new devices to the network can be tricky, especially
when a number of devices are already in use. Managing different
device models with different carriers and with different operating
systems can strain IT departments' already dwindling resources.
Mobile managers have to keep on top of each device's security and
the applications running on it, and ensure that it is being used
according to corporate mobile policy.
Like Research In Motion's (RIM)
BlackBerry Pearl, much the same can be said
for the Motorola Q, which was released a few months back and
marketed as the BlackBerry killer; a new line of business-class
phones from Nokia; and a host of other smartphones that are
making their larger, less aesthetically appealing counterparts
seem somewhat antiquated and, frankly, just not as cool.
"Many execs are going and picking out a phone, ones with
features they like, and bringing them into the company and saying,
'Make this work,'" said Jack Gold, principal and founder of J. Gold
Associates, a research and advisory firm specialising in mobility.
"It is getting harder and harder for IT groups to say no,
especially to key, high-level execs who pretty much get whatever
they want. And they don't like walking around with the old
brick-style BlackBerrys."
These new devices may be competitively priced, but with any new
toy there is a trickle down -- once one person has one, everyone
else wants one, and mobile managers are left either to concede and
give it to them or play the role of the bad guy and say, "Nope,
sorry pal, we're not going to support it."
"This device opens the market up to pro-sumers who would not
have bought an older [BlackBerry] because they were clunky and not
very cool," Gold said. By pro-sumer, Gold means folks who use the
device both as a professional tool and a consumer gadget.
Debbie Cole, IT liaison for Allen Boone Humphries Robinson
(ABHR), a Texas law firm that uses Palm Treo 650s -- not the newest
or slickest of devices -- said she's had some end users ask about
bringing in something a little more modern. While those requests
are met on a case-by-case basis, Cole said, oftentimes the staff
stick with what they know and what they already support.
"We have a group of people who make the decisions of what to
support," she said. "We don't want to have to support 15 different
things."
 | | | | | They're very slick. Everybody, of
course, wants the best, the latest and the glitziest
device.
Tony Arroyo
Senior Distributed Technology
EngineerMetLife |
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Recently, Cole said, end users came in wanting to use the Palm Treo
700w, the Treo based on a
Windows Mobile operating system. A few key
users tested it out, but the functionality just wasn't there,
despite the more appealing look and feel of the device. Not long
after, she said, they "had somebody who wanted to try the
Motorola Q," which also operates on Windows Mobile. But thinking
back to the test of the Treo 700w, that request was dismissed
pretty much immediately. The Windows Mobile operating system
limited ABHR users from accessing certain applications.
"We told them we were probably going to test them out, but got
feedback on the Windows [Mobile] operating system," Cole said. "If
they didn't like the Treo 700w, they wouldn't like the Motorola
Q."
Right now, Cole said, slick new devices just don't fit ABHR's
mobile strategy. Upgrading just so everyone can carry around the
prettiest devices would be a waste of time, resources and money,
she said, especially when most of the Treo 650s used by the law
firm are still under contract.
"Work with what you've got," Cole said, adding that once ABHR
starts its phased device update, it will most likely move on to the
Palm Treo 700p, which is nicer than the 650 while also keeping the
Palm OS that end users are used to.
"It doesn't make much of a difference what it looks like," she
said. "It has to do what you need it to do."
Gold said, however, that an influx of new devices targeted at
the "cool guys" may soon find its way into the enterprise whether
mobile managers like it or not, especially by hitting the
competitive $200 price point, which is cheaper than some other
BlackBerry models and Palm Treos, and comparable to the Motorola
Q.
"As the price of these [devices] comes down, it will also mean
that it opens the door for more users to adopt them without
breaking the bank," Gold said of the Pearl, which is expected to
retail for around $200. "And if they are attractive devices, and
especially if they work well, then it makes it easier for them to
justify the cost."
Avi Greengart, analyst with Current Analysis and a proud Pearl
user, agreed.
"There are always people who want the latest and greatest," he
said. "Most of these devices are purchased on two-year contracts
that discourage rapid switching."
Greengart said, however, that from a business standpoint, the
Pearl does not replace RIM's traditional BlackBerrys. He said it
lacks a QWERTY keyboard. The devices have small keys and use a
SureType keyboard that "will be frustrating for executives who want
to regularly write email responses on the go.
"But mobile email is still largely confined to the executive
suite and road warriors," Greengart continued. "The new crop of
fashionable smartphones has the opportunity to broaden deployment
of these devices to pro-sumers, SMBs and employees at large
corporations who primarily use their phone for voice, but would
like to be in the loop when they are on the go."
Tony Arroyo, senior distributed technology engineer at MetLife,
has been using a Pearl for about four days. Arroyo, who also heads
wireless deployments and leads the BlackBerry project at MetLife,
said its functionality would be a good fit among the insurance and
financial giant's 3,500-strong BlackBerry deployment. He said he
would test the Pearl for more than a month before considering
piloting the device for general use within the enterprise.
"They're very slick," he said. "Everybody, of course, wants the
best, the latest and the glitziest device."
If the Pearl is released into general use, Arroyo said, training
and inventory could become a challenge. Being a large insurance
agency, MetLife likes to have tight control on device use within
the company. There are strict guidelines about what device models,
carriers and operating systems can be used. But, Arroyo added, "If
you have all of your ducks in a row, it's not that bad."
If an end user came in with a new, slick device that had not
been thoroughly tested within the company, they'd be out of luck,
Arroyo said.
"The policy is very clear," he said, "and they'd have to bring a
very strong business case to bear."
If end users bring in new devices "you lose the ability to
control the data on the device. You don't know what's going on,"
Arroyo continued.
Still, Arroyo said the Pearl would be a good fit, and if testing
goes well it could find its way into MetLife's device lineup,
though he admits that he's still figuring out how to use all of its
additional features.
"It's a great, useful device," he said. "Plus it has an
eye-candy quality to it. It's very attractive."
The size and form factor of the BlackBerry Pearl may have some
dismissing it as a toy, but it retains powerful functionality
compared with other "brick-style" BlackBerrys, Gold said, adding
that on the surface, the Pearl "looks very impressive."
Instead of the two-direction side track wheel, the Pearl features a
four-direction track ball to improve navigation, similar to a
mouse. The Pearl can also be cradled for charging, instead of
plugging a wire into a small USB port. The Pearl uses an Intel
Xscale chip, which will offer high performance. It is a quad-band
phone, meaning it can work nearly anywhere. Plus, RIM added in a
host of consumer-focused functions such as a camera and a music
player, which can also be disabled via the BlackBerry Enterprise
Server in case enterprises want to block use of these features.
BlackBerry also threw voice-activated dialing into the Pearl, Gold
said, something many phones have but BlackBerry never included.
Gold added that he's not too fond of where RIM put the add-on
memory -- a mini SD card that sits inside next to the SIM card,
making it a chore to plug in and take out. The SureType keyboard
keeps the size of the device down, but most users would rather have
the QWERTY keypad. Casual users wouldn't find that bothersome,
however.
"I think this device will get tons of buzz, and it will be a hot
seller for [RIM], provided it has the voice and Web surfing quality
it claims to have," Gold said. "This is really their cross-over
product: enough corporate features to keep enterprise users happy
and enough bells and whistles to make it attractive to higher-end
consumer types and especially SMBs."
David Heit, a director of product management for RIM, said he
does expect an element of users who want the latest phones to pick
up a BlackBerry Pearl, but he said many IT shops are going to have
to weigh the phone's beauty against supporting it. Even large
BlackBerry deployments, he said, have to determine which flavors of
BlackBerry they prefer to manage.
"How many models do you really want to support?" Heit asked,
later adding that "as deployments have grown, IT will strive for
consistency of device model."
Whether mobile managers will play into the influx of new, slick
devices is in their hands, Heit said, and all comes back to what
kind of mobility policies they set themselves, allowing or
disallowing certain devices from coming through the door.
"Part of what they deal with is: 'What additional policies am I
going to have to implement to support that device?'" Heit said.
While the Pearl has many consumer-type features, it also allows IT
to have a level of control over the device: The camera can be
disabled, the extra storage can be limited, and the multimedia
capabilities can be restricted, he said.
The Pearl, with its added features and sleek design, is a way
for cell phone users to get the functionality of a BlackBerry, Heit
said, while enterprise users can get BlackBerry functionality with
the look of a cell phone.
"It's not a decision of, 'This is the latest device, I have to
have it,'" Heit said. "It's, 'What is my policy?'"