These days, if you're a business person who needs to be in constant contact with your inbox, you're rocking the BlackBerry; according to this NY Times article, the devices from Research In Motion hold a plurality with over 22% of the market. However, the lifeblood of any publically-traded business is expansion - gotta keep those shareholders happy, after all - and expansion for the BlackBerry seems to be into the highly-competitive consumer market, where R.I.M. hopes the advanced email capabilities of the BlackBerry will help its first phone, the BlackBerry Pearl stand out from the crowd. With all of the standard smart phone features (camera, flash memory slot, mp3 player capability, stylish design) the blackberry pearl doesn't seem like anything new or unusual. Its smaller keyboard, which helps further the phone's appeal to people who, you know, talk on these things probably makes the whole emailing thing a bit tougher too, so no real advantage there. I have a feeling that if this phone makes a dent in the consumer market, it's going to be on a name basis only and even then possibly as a really expensive gateway drug to the more traditional BlackBerries.

Via the New York Times