The new BlackBerry Bold is about to hit AT&T shelves (boy, do I ever hate exclusivity in technology) and it’s going to be a huge improvement on the personal / consumer experience BlackBerry offered in the past.

Bite the Apple?

But, if you’re waiting for RIM or any other company to kill the iPhone, you’ll be waiting for a very long time. The iPhone and the BlackBerry Bold are hitting two very specific yet similar markets: both are looking for a cool factor while conforming to their peer group. This isn’t so much PC vs. Mac, but it is getting pretty close.

RIM is getting closer to cool with the under-40 business crowd with the new device. One of the reasons for this is that the BlackBerry offers a stylish form factor, Wi-Fi and even 3G, but it’s both the tactile keyboard and the BlackBerry persona that’ll keep that same audience from hitting up the bank account for a personal iPhone.

As a side note here, I think it’s a brilliant strategy for Apple to work itself into the business mainstream through something OTHER than a personal computer (I realize, one definition of the iPhone is, in fact, a computer considering it’s running a locked-down version of their OS but this is more about the tools for getting the job done — especially in an on-the-go world).

My guess is that, from what we’ve read and heard, RIM is definitely going to take a bite out of the Apple with this device (and it’s eventual siblings).

Following Suits

I keep an eye on the market share and the application development of both platforms. Heck, I even own a BlackBerry 8830 and an iPhone. The reason isn’t because I can’t make up my mind; it’s because these devices are what shape my peers and clients’ mobile experience. I have at least one discussion per week about the interface and form factor of the iPhone. However, when I’m with my clients, who primarily use BlackBerry devices, I feel comfortable knowing their experience. It’s not a cheap way to understanding a small portion of their business persona, but it makes a difference.

Come Together

There is a great hope that someday I’ll either be so incredibly adept at using a virtual keyboard that my mobile life will become one device. This, I believe, will happen around the same time that I understand why today’s youth can only seldom use full words and punctuation when sending me an e-mail. So, it’s quite possible that I’m simply a mobile device user in training. Because, after all, whether you like it or not, Apple has created the new way for mobile interface design and it doesn’t have a key or a bunch of buttons.

When the best of both mobile devices come together (and I do believe they will), I’ll be there waiting for it with my 51% touch screen accuracy and my stereo, noise canceling headphones that double as a latte maker. I just hope I’m still young enough to enjoy it.

Will tomorrow’s release of the Apple iPhone SDK come anywhere near the levels of usefulness that start-ups and Fortune 500 companies need to create a business model?

I’m going to say no.

I’m also going to restate what I had mentioned a couple months ago and that is: Apple will not let you host your iPhone application on their ONLY method of global distribution unless you have a damned good and damned profitable application.

I’m personally very interested in the business applications piece since I’ve been looking for ways to a) use ONLY my iPhone for all facets of my life and b) connect my Bluetooth-enabled phone to the Web via the Mac.

Neither of these things will happen for a while, but I’m hoping that we can all benefit from a wide selection rather than grumble about a few and far between situation.

I’m a huge sucker for new technology and I think there are thousands of products that need an update. In fact, the very old (two years) Bluetooth keyboard I use every day could be donated so that I can buy the snazzy aluminum/titanium/polished metal version sitting in my abandoned Apple shopping cart.

The “new” mobile offerings from Apple today left me feeling less than impressed, but there’s very good reason for the minimal changes being sold this week. For starters, the MacBook Air is very new and the form factor can simply not be duplicated until at least a 120-day retail cycle happens.

In terms of the specs, there is a feature that makes me look forward to the next MacBook Pro that I purchase: the multi-touch pad. However, by the time they get to what I want, it’ll be eight machines from now. I would love a programmable multi-touch pad. I’m pretty sure that this can be done by using current hardware.

Next up: The iPhone SDK. Today’s 1.1.4 iPhone firmware update weighed in at a healthy 162 Mb.

If you are one of the billion people in the world who accept the Apple method of control and, admittedly, the epitome of electronic distribution then Steve Jobs has news for you: they’ll handle your software applications for the iPhone and iTouch as well. No problem. They’ll take it all.

Why? Because that’s exactly what’s going to happen once the SDK finally reaches the masses and those masses clamor to strut their stuff.

Small development and creative firms will try to create the next $1.99 killer application and larger development firms will try to close the gap between business productivity and one of the coolest devices ever created.

Will this mean that there won’t be any freeware?

Of course not, but consider the stronghold of Apple in their distribution of electronic content. They’ll be certain to set strict guidelines surrounding QA, pricing and size than any standalone development shop. And, if they’re going to have the opportunity to charge you for their control, then they should implement best practices to refund or allow credit for items which do not meet specifications or the promise to customers.

The development community, as always, has the say on whether or not they’ll sign on for distribution with Apple. The choice to not join, however, would be detrimental to the bottom line. In reality, it could stop all means of getting the product out the door.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting Belkin’s offering for the iPhone auto accessory market and they’ve finally delivered (at CES, of course).

It’s amazing how hard it seems to have been for accessory companies to adapt their product line to the iPhone, but we’re thankful that we’ll have a quick solution that’s in line with our past user experience.