Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) – er, BlackBerry Ltd. – has been getting some buzz in the last few weeks as techies and tech writers and analysts take a long look at the new Z10 smartphone running the BlackBerry 10 operating system in preparation for the U.S. debut next week in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) retail stores. In general, the feedback has been positive for the BB10 OS, but there are questions whether the company can become a viable option in the smartphone market space where Android by Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and iOS by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) swallow 90 percent of the market currently.
Other than unbridled loyalty to a brand, many consumers seems to be looking for the next big innovation in smartphones, not just an evolution. And though BB 10 is kinda late to the game in terms of smartphone OSs that meet needs, Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) seems to have hit on one particular innovation that just might help it secure some sales in the enterprise realm, where Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has become prevalent. The innovation is a security feature called Balance, and it appears that BlackBerry is willing to share ts innovation advantage with other platforms to make more smartphones serve as good business phones.
What makes this so innovative, and why share such an innovation?
Other smartphone platforms do not have the partitions available to do this, so in a BYOD culture, many IT pros have a difficult time securing the work-related information on a person’s smartphones so it is secure and safe.
Apparently, Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) is working toward developing its Balance system for both the Android and iOS operating systems. Word is that these alternate version will have have the full functionality of what is on a BlackBerry smartphones, but there will be an ability for Android and iOS users to at least be able to separate and “lock” their business information. With the Android version of Balance, it will look and act like the BlackBerry original, except that e-mails into each profile will not be able to be unified into a single application. With iOS, which is a closed-source system, Balance will be more limited. There would not be separate profiles, but instead the business data will be locked away in a separate folder. When accessed, that data can be used with the phone’s existing settings, but all data collected via the apps in the business folder will not be shared with the rest of the OS.
What do you think about Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) being willing to sell this innovation to other platforms? Do you think it should keep the innovation for itself to give it an enterprise advantage, or should it sell it – but at such a price that it makes Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) raise their smartphones prices to accommodate? Let us know your thoughts about this innovation in the comments section below.
DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.
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