Random Celebrity Endorsement Of The Day: Will.i.am And RIM

InformationWeek - Manhasset, NY, USA - Erm. Huh? RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) is looking for another angle into the consumer market and decided partnering with Will.i.am and his Dipdive online community is the way to do it. If you're left scratching your head at this one, you're not alone. Is a music and politics-themed social community the right angle for RIM?

First off, does celebrity endorsement really sell products? It doesn't do it for me. I don't buy things because some famous person also uses them. I use the phones I use because they do what I need them to do. I use the computers I use because they do what I need them to do. Same goes for all my major purchases, ranging from tech equipment to guitars, amplifiers, and more. What about you?

RIM has partnered with Will.i.am in an attempt to have a wider appeal in the consumer market. As in, "Hey, look! We're down with [insert celebrity endorser/partner name here]. That makes us, you know, cool and stuff. Go buy our smartphones." Mmm, I don't think so.

RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie commented on the partnership: "Probably the two hottest trends in wireless are social networking ... and the other one is the multimedia, which is principally portable music." Dipdive "brings the artist into a direct relationship with the fan," he said. Yes, it does do that. But RIM needs to improve the "multimedia" capability of its devices further if it really wants something like this partnership to work. It has made strides, for sure, but its music and video playing software is lacking badly when compared with competitors Windows Mobile, S60, and the iPhone. Each of those platforms offers far more robust capabilities and a higher level of user friendliness.