At that point, I think that Blackberry is suffering a lot from their now disastrous brand image. It's not that Blackberry isn't a real alternative. It's that most people aren't even considering Blackberry at all anymore.

The feeling I get is that it occurs to very few people that Blackberry could even be an alternative. I doubt that many people would notice if they went under tomorrow.

Blackberry used to provide hardware-based PIN messaging services. Once the world decided that software was king and that apps trump security it no longer made sense to invest in Blackberry.

Ergo, Blackberry is not a real alternative not from a security perspective but from a usability perspective.

I'm not saying this is correct, only trying to codify the public perception for your benefit.

I think their issues with the United Arab Emirates, India and Saudia Arabia regarding BlackBerry either moving servers or handing over encryption keys, tainted their reputation in that regard.

The whole thing got very confusing, the customers data might still be safe and secure, but it's not really an area where doubt and stories about the opposite are easily brushed over.