It seems like BlackBerry maker Research In Motion simply can’t catch a break in the mobile space lately, what with their market share being lost to such rivals as the iPhone and Android, and now it appears that even airlines are moving away from BlackBerry in favour of the iPhone.
Reuters are reporting that Australia’s Qantas Airways is the latest firm to give BlackBerry the old heave-ho, and have decided to ditch the RIM smartphone after a survey of employees that showed they would rather have an iPhone.
Thus the word is Research In Motion is getting yet another slap in the face as Qantas is to replace the 1300 company issued BlackBerry handsets with the iOS smartphone, a move that will apparently save roughly A$1.4 million at the end of the program.
Qantas Airline has said, “Transition from the Blackberry to the iPhone is part of Qantas’ broader mobility strategy and once complete will result in significant cost savings. Savings will come from simplifying the infrastructure supporting the devices, from the devices themselves and from the data agreements reached with our providers.”
Apparently IBM was also reported as ditching BlackBerry handsets for the iPhone as well for their 500 workers in Australia.
Obviously this latest news, although 1300 at Qantas and 500 at IBM doesn’t seem to be a lot, is still a bit of a kick to RIM as it struggles to survive in the mobile space, something that as time goes on looks like becoming harder for the company to do.