With iPhone 4s Release, a Storm Looms for Blackberry

An already tumultuous week for Apple takes another turn tomorrow as the iPhone 4S goes on pre-sale. After Tim Cook’s muted keynote debut, and news of Jobs’s death yesterday, many will be keeping their fingers on the pre-sales pulse as a clue into Apple’s performance in the post-Jobs world. We surveyed 250 current smartphone owners on their impressions.

Blackberry Exodus

A tough year for Blackberry is about to get tougher, as 1 in 4 owners said they were ‘very likely’ to jump ship to the iPhone 4S by the end of the year. More bad news for the Canadian mobile manufacturer after turbulent stock performance, mass lay-offs, and a dissapointing tablet launch.

Key-not

As a first peek inside Tim Cook’s Apple, many were watching the keynote to see if the zeal and fervor Jobs had brought to the post would carry forward. The expectations for an iPhone 5 were high, and even if it be just a name, that magic number would have represented a symbolic victory for Cook. An affirmation that he would keep Apple on the edge of possibility. Instead, we were treated to a iPhone 4S that may be humming on the inside, but merely felt sensible in an event pregnant with expectation. 79% of smartphone owners following along with the keynote felt the iPhone 4S did not ‘exceeded expecations’. Cook’s focus on market expansion may have sat well with shareholders, but he would be remiss to forget the allure of wonderment in the company’s image.