BlackBerry recently announced the launch of their new touch-screen tablet computer, 7 months after the most popular tablet computer; the Apple iPad was released.  One look at the specifications for the new BlackBerry PlayBook and it is easy to see just who they are trying to match and surpass, Apple.  But do they really appeal to the same consumer market?  BlackBerry has been associated with professionals, where as Apple products are seen as the forefront of modern technology available to the masses.

Is it any surprise that the PlayBook has video conferencing, quick browsing and a dual-core processor, things which can’t be found on the iPad?  The PlayBook is being released before Google and Samsung release their tablet computers, and Apple inevitably releases an updated iPad with some of the features from the iPhone 4.  BlackBerry’s first tablet computer is actually competing with the next iPad, which will more than likely be released around the same time.

BlackBerry claim their tablet to be “the first multiprocessing, multi-tasking, uncompromised browsing, enterprise ready, professional grade tablet”. Everything you want from an item that is called a PlayBook.  The PlayBook offers different options to an iPad and therefore it surely has a different target market.  When the iPad was released it was fresh, innovative and inspirational, browsing on the move, email at the touch of your hands.  Apple like the link between their technology being accessed through your fingertips the iPhone and iPod Touch being prime examples

BlackBerry has always been associated with professionals and businesses, so to release a tablet computer called the PlayBook may be seen as ironic.  However could it be aimed at a different consumer market?  An iPad is very much seen as a young product to have, with the brand’s sleek and stylish layout is a contrast to the organised and business like image BlackBerry.  So why don’t BlackBerry attempt to control the slightly older, professional market?  This would strengthen the brand image of professional technology for professional people.  With the PlayBook, Blackberry appears to have fallen into the trap of trying to beat Apple at its own game, rather than playing to its own considerable strengths and niche market.

The humble subject line has long been an overlooked element of email marketing, often taking a back seat to design, copywriting, imagery and call-to-action refinement during the development of a campaign.

Yet, despite its lowly status on this list of specialist areas, the subject line has actually always been an important factor in email marketing. A good subject line, basically, can make the difference between an email flyer being opened and acted upon or ignored altogether. You can have the best looking email marketing in the world but without a decent subject line to back it up it’s never likely to fulfil its potential.

Now, with mobile devices becoming ever-popular, the subject line is more important than ever to email marketing because of one simple fact;

Smartphone inboxes only display subject lines and from fields.

No images. No preview panes. It’s all down to your subject line. So it better be good.

With the explosion of smartphone use in recent years – the ubiquitous iPhone and Blackberry, along with the rapidly phenomenal Android OS phones (which grew 350% in the last quarter here in the UK) – more and more of us are accessing our emails on the move, or even opting to use smartphones as in-office business devices due to their ever-increasing performance benefits. Smartphones aren’t the preserve of business or the technically-minded, they’re for everyone. And it seems everyone has got one.

Microsoft, which has stayed on the fringes of the smartphone market for the last few years, is moving closer to the launch of its “Windows Phone 7″ operating system – a hi-spec platform that will doubtlessly be backed up by a gargantuan marketing budget when it emerges before 2010 is out. The new Windows offering will present users with yet another super-capable handheld option – and it’s only going to get bigger.

Of course, email on the move simply presents yet another way to use email marketing to communicate effectively and efficiently with your target market. So it’s unquestionably a good thing.

But next time you’re crafting a campaign that will spring into life on iPhones, Androids and as yet unimagined super devices, make sure you don’t forget the importance of the element that has been around from day one of email – the subject line.