James Citron is CEO and Co-Founder of Mogreet, the worldʼs first mobile video marketing platform. The digital entrepreneur has more than a decade of experience in the mobile industry with a proven track record for introducing successful, cutting-edge technology into the global marketplace. Follow him at @jamescitron.

Five years ago, a Canadian handset company stormed onto the scene with the hottest “must have” mobile device. The RIM BlackBerrywas around before the iPhone, when the Droid was still just science fiction.

Today, the seas have changed considerably. The mobile scene is now a two-horse race between Apple and Google. Where is RIM, the company that still commands so much of the smartphone market?

The days of the always-reliable BlackBerry may be numbered, save for a major re-focus of the company. BlackBerry will have to not only find its roots, but use them as a recipe to regain its thought leadership amongst mobile influencers and consumers. Here are four possible approaches.

1. Forget Apps – Leverage the New Mobile Web
2. Forget “Me Too” Innovation
3. Embrace and Market BBM
4. Open Mobile Marketing APIs

For marketers struggling to figure out which unique ad format to support or which mobile ad network to buy from, keep it simple: BlackBerry has 40% of the U.S. smartphone market and allows advertisers to use mobile web standards (not proprietary ad formats) to connect with your still affluent, hip audience. By embracing open standards, BlackBerry can win the love of advertisers who will create high-quality advertisements and not have to create one-off campaigns like the new iAds on Apple’s IOS4.

Good luck RIM. Despite what some say, you still can win the smartphone war — if you play it smart.

Source: http://mashable.com/2010/08/02/blackberry-stay-relevant/