A colleague sent me a link to a "Get the Facts" page that RIM has created as part of a new advertising campaign. One of the benefits of blogging is that everything here is my own personal opinion and not necessarily that of my employer - or so the disclaimer reads - so I want to share my view on this campaign from RIM:
I think RIM is very scared about Windows Mobile because of how it is now a mature platform that can compete head to head and win (i.e. the SCMDM launch at CTIA), and because many of their customers are cancelling their license, service and support contracts with them to ditch their Blackberries in favor of Windows Mobile. I was in one of our executive summits yesterday with a room full of Fortune 500 companies who were ready to make the transition.
So I am not surprised that RIM has been introducing FUD into the market, is giving software away for free and is upping their marketing. What is surprising is that they seem naive at marketing to IT. The first thing you learn when marketing to Developers or IT Professionals is that you can't market to them. The hate FUD, marketing spin and anything that comes from an ad agency. They need the facts and they want to play with the technology to check everything themselves.
Not to say we are perfect, or that sometimes I get too excited and can sound too much like a marketer. But most of what I read in this site was misleading. Here are the main points and my opinions on each.