The falling sales of BlackBerry devices has been much publicized in recent times as the likes of the iPhone and Android platform have been taking away RIM’s market share. The company is seemingly working hard to turn things round though, but many users may be considering leaving the BlackBerry platform.
It seems RIM are looking at new ways to tempt users to either stay or join the platform after recently being awarded a new patent, which according to Engadget could make history. The patent in question is described as an adjustable acoustic speaker output that is “based on an estimated degree of seal of an ear about a speaker port”.
This means that the speaker volume would automatically adjust itself depending on how far the device is held from the ear, and the description details “at least one touch sensor”. This would be used for working out the distance between the handset and the user’s ear, and the connecting method of adjusting audio depending what the sensor picks up.
We have already reported previously that a growing number of business users are now favouring Apple’s iPhone over the BlackBerry platform, which was once the handset of choice amongst business users. Even staffers up at Capitol Hill are switching to the iPhone in growing numbers as the BlackBerry popularity continues to wane.
RIM are now looking at taking a new direction as it looks to launch the BlackBerry 10 operating system sometime this year, which should be showcased at May’s BlackBerry World event. This comes as the company slashes prices of its handsets in an attempt to grab a bigger market share in India.
As an article over at the Hindustan Times is reporting the company has cut prices by up to 26 percent with the entry level Curve 8520 now costing Rs 8,999 compared to Rs 10,990 previously, which is a drop of more than 18 percent. While the price of the Curve 9380 and Curve 9360 has fallen to Rs 16,990 and Rs 18,990 from Rs 20,990 and Rs 19,990 respectively.
Are you thinking of leaving the BlackBerry platform for a rival phone brand despite a new patent being granted that will make calls better? With shares and prices falling is it time to move on or stay put with BlackBerry?