The mobility market is bustling with activity. The e-mail market,
particularly, appears to be heating up with Airtel announcing tie-up with
Microsoft to offer Windows Mobile 5.0 to its corporate customers. While Airtel
has broadened its portfolio of offerings for mobile mail users, RIM, the maker
of Blackberry, surprisingly, continues to remain reluctant to expand its
offerings through other mobile service providers in India. Users of Hutch or
other operators cannot go for Blackberry, as there is no number portability in
India. The corporate users also feel that going for another device, just for
e-mail makes little sense.
RIM's Contention
Globally, Blackberry is increasingly becoming popular instead of mobile
e-mail. But instead of capitalizing on this advantage, RIM has taken an
exclusive route to expand in India. When VOICE&DATA asked about RIM's
reluctance to go to other service providers like Hutch, even in the wake of
Airtel's newly announced relationship with Microsoft, the vice-president, Asia
Pacific, RIM, Norm W K Lo said, “We are happy with the relationship with
Airtel, as it is adding a great value to Blackberry users. We will continue to
maintain its exclusive tie-up with Airtel.” He refused to comment on whether
RIM was in talks with other service providers.
Global Situation
Incidentally, RIM has partnered with multiple operators in countries like
the US, Hong Kong and Singapore. Interestingly, Microsoft has not gone for an
exclusive arrangement with Airtel. For example, in the US, Microsoft boasts of
clients like Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and Cingular.
RIM's global competition includes Palm, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, and
Motorola, as far as the device is concerned. On the software side, its rivals
include Good Technologies and Microsoft. However, Blackberry's edge over
Windows Mobile 5.0 lies in its capability to provide end-to-end solution unlike
Microsoft. It provides all the software components of push e-mail solution, but
not the device itself and has tied up with HP and i-mate for device support.
|
Global:
There are 5.5 mn Blackberry devices among 2.5 bn mobile phones
in use
|
|
India:
There are around 25,000*
Blackberry users among 116 mn mobile users
|
|
*V&D
estimates
|
Bharti Airtel's Competitive Edge
The tie-up with Microsoft was Bharti Airtel's masterstroke to further
consolidate its position of being a mobile e-mail provider with wide range of
devices and options. It has got a definite lead over its competitors like Hutch,
Idea, and others. The incumbents-BSNL and MTNL-also have not really been
able to focus on the high-end segment.
According to official response of Bharti Airtel, “With the Windows Mobile
5.0, Airtel has expanded its business solutions portfolio.
Windows Mobile 5.0 complements Blackberry. Depending upon the usage
patterns, requirement and suitability, customers can choose what they want.
We now offer them a choice with the latest in the field of on-the-go
access to business information.”
|
Blackberry
Vs Rest*
|
|
Handset
|
Hutch
|
Airtel
|
Idea
(Mail v1 - Push Based and Idea Mail v2-Pull based)
|
|
Handset Requirement
|
Only Windows devices
|
Only Blackberry device.
Offers Blackberry Connect services for other handsets
|
Symbian and Windows
devices
|
|
Handset Examples
|
Nokia S60 series
phones, Nokia Communicator, Sony Ericsson: P800, P900, P910i, Imate, O2,
HP ipaq, Krome
|
Blackberry, Nokia 9500
Communicator, Nokia 9300, smartphone and Sony Ericsson P910
|
O2, ipaq, SP 230, Nokia,
Sony Ericsson, Motorola
|
|
Handset Cost
|
Rs 10,000 to 30,000
|
Rs 15,000 to 25,000
|
Rs 10,000 to 30,000
|
|
Security
|
AES 128-bit encryption
|
End to End AES or
Tripple DES encryption-FIPS 140-2 validated encryption
|
128 bit AES encryption
end-to-end
|
|
Attachment
|
View Attachments
|
View Attachments
|
View, Edit, Save and
Re-send Attachments
|
|
Mail Platforms
|
Microsoft Exchange and
Lotus Domino
|
Microsoft Exchange,
Lotus, POP 3 and IMAP 4 supported mail
|
Microsoft Exchange,
Lotus
|
|
Recurring Cost (Monthly
Subscription Fee, downloads)
|
Rs 199 (pay for usage*)Rs
499 (500 MB free, thereafter pay for usage*)Rs 699 (1 GB free, thereafter
pay for usage*) Rs 899 (Unlimited Access)
|
Entry price of Rs 499.
Airtel charges 50 paisa per kilobyte
|
Rs 500 with zero usage
charges
|
|
*The list is only
indicative
|
Way Forward
Blackberry's strategy of continuing its exclusive relationship with Airtel
is a big limitation. It has become a real hurdle in the growth of Blackberry
devices in India. According to an estimate, out of a total mobile population of
106 mn, there are around 25,000 Blackberry phones in India (there is a
non-disclosure arrangement between Airtel and Blackberry to not reveal the total
number of such devices in the country). While it is a win-win situation for
Airtel in the light of its recent Windows Mobile 5.0 tie-up, RIM appears to be
in a spot.
Consider the offerings of other mobile service providers. There is a strong
feeling among other service providers like Idea Cellular that they have been
deprived of the privilege to offer Blackberry devices to its corporate
customers. The company organized a vociferous media campaign sometime back to
prove that other devices offered by the companies (Ericsson, Nokia and others)
were superior to Blackberry. Even Hutch Mail claims to offer almost same level
of services as Blackberry. However,
a random check made by VOICE&DATA reveals that some CEOs using Blackberry
have a high level of satisfaction.
Only time will tell whether RIM extends its multi-operator strategy for India
while considering the increase in numbers of high-end users, who depend on
mobile e-mail. The company has just come out of a long-standing patent dispute
with NTP after paying $612.5 mn. With Motorola and Nokia planning to introduce
more e-mail devices to counter Blackberry, RIM's task is well cut out.
Sudesh Prasad
sudeshp@cybermedia.co.in
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