For the past two years, consumers and the media alike have ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed over the iPhone. And rightfully so. The sleek design, unique interface and ease of use were characteristics not frequently seen in the US cell phone market before 2007, and drew significant traffic to Apple’s website.

But, two years later, traffic to BlackBerry’s website has slowly overtaken Apple’s online iPhone traffic. Is the love affair with the iPhone over?

Generating website traffic is important for any online business, but it is crucial for cell phone manufacturers. The vast majority of consumers do their online cell phone shopping at carrier websites (AT&T, VZW, etc.). The manufacturer has very little direct connection with the shopper and thus less influence on their purchase. For cell phone manufacturers, developing a strong online presence that is independent of carriers is an important step in creating and sustaining a dialogue with shoppers and enhancing their overall interaction with the brand. All manufacturers are working to achieve such a presence.

The chart below shows traffic to U.S. phone-specific portions* of each manufacturer’s website between July 2008 and February 2009.

As you can see, it is typical for phone manufacturers to see a bump in traffic when one of their high-profile devices launches.

  • Apple: 77% increase for the iPhone 3G
  • RIM: 37% increase for the Bold and Storm
  • HTC: 559% increase for the T-Mobile G1
  • Samsung: 92% increase for the Instinct and again in late November for the Behold

What is remarkable here is RIM’s performance. Although the launch didn’t generate a traffic bump as dramatic as some others, they were able to sustain that online momentum over the last eight months. Lifts for the other manufacturers were larger, but temporary. This trend is likely driven by RIM’s execution of a well-conceived strategy.

First, RIM decided to reinvent BlackBerry as a consumer brand, not just a work device. They have embarked on several major promotions since Spring 2008, including the ubiquitous “Life on Blackberry” campaign. Other manufacturers mainly focus advertising specifically around device launches, and not so much as a branding tool. RIM has clearly stepped up its total advertising spending in both areas.

Second, they hyped the BlackBerry App World a LOT. “Blackberry applications” was the fifth most popular search term driving traffic to blackberry.com during Q1, and the App World didn’t even launch until April 1st!

Finally, they keep it fresh. We’ve only seen one iPhone release per year, and of course it’s the only phone made by Apple. RIM had a suite of popular devices launch in 2008 (Storm, Bold, Curve and Pearl on new carriers, Pearl Flip) to constantly keep their name in the news and in consumers’ minds.

What others can take from RIM’s example is the notion that, despite the hype, Apple and its iPhone are not actually invincible. Others can compete, and even conquer, the breakthrough device if they build compelling products, design smart promotional strategies and take the time and, yes, money to execute to perfection.

Who’s up for the challenge?

*We say ‘phone-specific’ to normalize for traffic that may visit Samsung.com to learn about TVs or apple.com to buy a laptop. It helps to make comparisons more “apples-to-apples.”

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  1. Matt

    Your title is misleading because of the stats your comparing. It gives the wrong impression that RIM is remotely near the iPhone in online device usage.

    If you want to see a real usage comparison give us the mobile device statistics data for google.com or how about some real-world mobile ad sales statistics. I know admob have recently been shouting those statistics from the rooftop http://www.admob.com/marketing/pdf/mobile_metrics_feb_09.pdf admob have got the iPhone listed as 33% of ALL smartphone traffic which is insane.

  2. Sean McColgan

    Nothing is going to touch the iphone when 3.0’s released – the blackberry will be light years behind…

  3. Jeem

    Uh, how many Blackberry user’s are there? and how many iPhone users?

    You’d think there would be more visits to the Blackberry site wouldn’t you?

  4. Matt W.

    The real question here is why people visit the sites. I would venture a guess that % of individuals visiting BlackBerry website before buying BlackBerry is higher than% or iPhone buyers buying iPhones. Would not linger on this survey for more than a moment then move on to more relevant information.

  5. bassan

    hi, msj 614 wonderful blog 614 share

  6. Бронислав

    Даа… Какой кошмар!

  7. Kate

    drop by, nice blog.

  8. БaкинcкийPoмaн

    Да, было бы смешно, если б не было так грустно …

  9. AlexCoreX

    Все отлично, но дизайн ползет в браузере (Google Chrome). Вы бы поправили.

  10. UrbanArtist

    Unfortunately all BlackBerry devices have not gotten close to the IPHONES operating system, I have a BB9530 storm and its slow, buggy, and there graphic/game capabilities are no where near iphone 3.0. Hopefully BB steps up there OS since I’m stuck with the phone for 2 YEARS. =( . I’ve already swapped my phone due to software errors, plus it is also sad that i must remove my battery at least once every 2 days to keep the phone working well.

  11. Мурат

    В очередной раз спасибо, хорошие что есть такие люди как вы, которые дают дейстивтельно дельные советы:)

  12. Натан

    Любопытно. Вопрос только в том, как это будет выглядеть в будущем :)

  13. bassan loadcell

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  16. Кам'янець-Подільський

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  17. sikiş

    hi webmaster
    thanks for this

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