gadgetmoto

Reported by Jason Wilk from Timycomb.com, he explained that in a recent conversation with an anonymous (great f’in name) RIM executive, Blackberry is looking to incorporate video conferencing features into their 2010 line of devices.  That and other points covered after the jump! 

• Apps: While RIM has been trying to find a way to stay competitive, he admitted that Blackberry (RIMM 75.99 ↓0.20%) App World has not been a rocket success in terms of app volume and developer popularity. “It’s tough when you are going up against a company operating one platform and perfecting a single piece of hardware”.
• TelCo Reliability: He said that RIM is fortunate to have so many solid relationships with the best TelCo’s globally. “It’s been a strong advantage in the market, especially the US, to offer devices across more than just one network”. When I asked him aboutAT&T ( T 26.23 ↓0.42%), he said that it hasn’t been near the nightmare for them that Apple (AAPL 163.39 ↑0.37%) has seen with the iPhone/AT&T.
• iPhone: He said the iPhone is a great phonne, but he thinks Blackberry will continue to have strong growth. “They’re different phones”. He specifically pointed out the heavy adoption rates for 18-25 year olds this past year. “All of their friends are on BBM, and it’s addicting”. I couldn’t agree more with this statement. In Los Angeles, I am still heavily outnumbered in my group of friends and 95% of them say they will never give up their Blackberry because of all their friends on BBM (Blackberry Messenger).
• Hardware: This is where things got interesting. I asked him what RIM planned to do if the iPhone were to have upgraded their hardware to include a front-facing camera. His response was “as I said before, we are fortunate to have our relationships with many different carriers, some of which can handle something like live video-conferencing”. In other words, he and his team weren’t worried about the iPhone launching front-facing video-chat so long as they are with AT&T. The last thing he said to me was “video conferencing is something that could completely change the mobile landscape and it is something we have been thinking about and working on for quite some time. You will start seeing something early next year”.