BlackBerry may have lost favor with most of its customers, but it is still well-loved by President Barack Obama. Although the White House Communications Agency is reportedly testing LG and Samsung smartphones as possible replacements for the BlackBerry handsets it currently uses, Obama is having none of it.
Back in 2009, Obama famously admitted his love affair with BlackBerry and bemoaned the fact that he would lose his BlackBerry when he ascended to the presidency.
"I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry," he said. "They're going to pry it out of my hands."
In the end, not even the presidency could take his BlackBerry away from him. After working with BlackBerry to make a special, more secure version of the BlackBerry, Obama regained possession of his beloved QWERTY handset. He's had it with him ever since.
So when reports hinted that the White House was testing LG and Samsung smartphones, the blogosphere went wild. Android fans cried victory and BlackBerry staunchly defended its embattled reputation.
"We value the long-term relationship we've had with the White House and have been securing their mobile communications for more than a decade. The U.S. government requires the highest levels of security. We were the first mobility platform to receive the 'Authority to Operate' certification from the Department of Defense," BlackBerry said in a statement, soon after the report was released.
"Governments test new technologies frequently, but nevertheless the U.S. government continues to choose BlackBerry for its unmatched security and cost effectiveness. Other vendors such as Samsung and LG still have a long way to go to catch up to meet the government's stringent requirements and certifications," the statement said.
Shortly thereafter, Obama decided to set the record straight and set White House spokesman Jay Carney to the task. Carney told the AP that the "Executive Office of the President isn't participating in any pilot programs affecting their hand-held devices," even though a pilot program is under way for other White House staff.
Carney's dry statement of fact must have lifted BlackBerry's spirits momentarily, but the company cannot deny that its share of the smartphone market is quickly dwindling.
Recently, comScore stated that BlackBerry's share of the U.S. smartphone market fell below that of Windows Phone to just 3.1 percent. Additionally, when T-Mobile ran a promotion for BlackBerry owners, encouraging them to switch to the new iPhone, BlackBerry or Android device, 94 percent of BlackBerry customers opted to switch to iOS or Android devices.
BlackBerry's contracts with the U.S. government and enterprise customers are also diminishing. Back in January, the Pentagon denied reports that it has ordered more BlackBerry handsets for its staff. Forrester Research also stated that BlackBerry could continue to lose enterprise customers to Apple, as the percentage of enterprise customers' spending on Apple products increased from 1 percent to 8 percent between 2009 and 2012.
Even Obama's endorsement of BlackBerry doesn't have enough gravitas to save the company's reputation. BlackBerry may be friends with the current commander in chief, but there's no guarantee that the next president of the United States will be a BlackBerry user, in fact, it's quite unlikely.
