Though RIM was short on announcements at MWC they did make it very apparent how their business model looks for the future. In short, it looks just like it always has. Taking a high priority in RIM’s strategy is data efficiency and how it plays an essential role in the success of the BlackBerry platform. The basic strategy is to compress data so that devices can utilize networks without straining them. The end result being higher speed and reliability for networks. Some interesting statistics were exposed on The CrackBerry.com Podcast today. Rory O’Neill and Mike Kirkup of Research in Motion reported that other smartphones are far less efficient with data than a BlackBerry. For example, a 100kb webpage on a non-BlackBerry uses 120kb of data, while on a BlackBerry that same page takes just 40kb of data.

This worked back in 2000 when users were forced to use GPRS for data and networks didn’t have near the capacity as they do today. But it is 2010 now. Networks are considerably faster and easily handle data-hogging smartphones and 3G connect cards that are capable of transferring as much data as you would on home network.

There seems to be a hot debate on whether this strategy works today with the current cellular network technology that is available. The real point to consider is whether conservation of data is negatively affecting BlackBerry users’ experiences. As a BlackBerry user I tend to feel like everything, and I mean everything data-related takes longer on my BlackBerry compared to a similar device. I understand of course that browsing doesn’t really count in this case because the BlackBerry browser is nowhere near the level of other smartphone browsers. Slow browsing is due to the poor rendering engine and not so much poor data usage. I do think however, that lag shows up in things like attachment downloading and any file transfers. It gets really frustrating to have a device that is supposed to be second-to-none when it comes to email, choke on attachments in order to stay efficient.

What do you think? Should RIM loosen up a bit? Leave us a comment