In the ‘mobile wars’ it’s becoming a just-about accepted truth that RIM is slipping – in development and staying ahead of the game. Namely, what’s become the Android and Apple game.

And that’s no different when applied to field service professions, according to the Aberdeen Group. The following are some key observations:

• When it comes to field service, it’s a lucrative smartphone market: 65% of relevant organizations indicated their field techs use smartphones (2011).
• Also, 41% of surveyed organizations were in the process of evaluating devices, including tablets, for adoption.
• Here’s the kicker: of the companies evaluating smartphones, just 18% indicated they might up the number of devices running BlackBerry OS, while 29% said they’d increase Android adoption, 26% considering furthering iOS adoption and another 26% looking at Windows Mobile.
• And finally, in the tablet space, the interest in BlackBerry devices was non-existent.

Which smartphones does your crew use? What are you considering switching to in the next year?