4 ms·

Does RIM Have a Second Act?

5 points by cwan 16y ago

stevenwei 16y ago
PlayBook won't hit stores before the first quarter of 2011, but RIM is convinced it has a slumbering tiger on its hands. "It changes the game because we're making mobile fit the Web, not the other way around," says Balsillie. What does that mean? RIM has figured out a way to squeeze a full computing platform into a tablet, which is a bit like fitting the Incredible Hulk into an Armani suit. The PlayBook will deliver the entire Web at the same speed as a home computer can, without the need for special apps that repackage and abbreviate mobile content. Read: it can run Flash. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure that is a compelling enough selling point for most consumers. Native apps have grown in popularity because they provide a consistent, polished user experience specifically tailored to the device. One that is generally unmatched by most websites (unless they were specifically designed with the mobile/tablet form factor in mind).
- st3fan 16y ago
  Also note that their first quarter actually starts in may?
  - corin_ 16y ago
    Q1 in software/hardware release dates is not the same as Q1 in finance, it litterally means the first 3 months of 2011.
joeguilmette 16y ago
A four year intermission between Act 1 and Act 2 is not a good sign.
- jarek 16y ago
  How long were the intermissions in Apple's play?
  - 9oliYQjP 16y ago
    At first I was going to answer with "the better part of Steve Jobs' absence from the company". However, thinking about it a bit longer, I think Apple started getting into actual trouble after the launch of Windows 95. They had absolutely nothing to fight back with except marketing, which consisted mostly of cheap attack ads like these ones: - http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/08/congrtlnsw95_yo.html http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/08/congrtlnsw95_yo.html - http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n-JrcfOL7Y8/SKHqBnwaUWI/AAAAAAAAABg/k8baUcgo2Qk/s400/AppleWin95.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n-JrcfOL7Y8/SKHqBnwaUWI/AAAAAAAAAB... Windows 95 was launched in late August of 1995. Prior to Windows 95, Apple wasn't exactly the best run company in the world. Their product line-up was an absolute mess. The Newton was acknowledged by everybody as pretty cool but it wasn't a resounding business success. However, most people still considered their products to be the best for desktop publishing and education which were huge markets at the time. Once Windows 95 was launched however, Apple's act as the only serious solution for desktop publishing and education was rightfully ended. Skip ahead two years and Apple is in serious trouble. People looked at them the same way they look at RIM today. They were has-beens living on borrowed time. They were in really really really big trouble as a company. Steve Jobs took the reigns of Apple as interim CEO in September of 1997 (http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1997/09/InterimCEO.html http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1997/09/InterimCEO.html). Roughly 8 months later in May of 1998, the iMac is announced, and Apple's second act -- one in which it is an industrial design leader -- begins. So existence by sheer momentum lasted approximately two years for Apple. I would say that the iPhone was RIM's Windows 95. Hell, Microsoft has pivoted and Windows Phone 7 is a great competitor to iPhone. Google's first shot at an iPhone competitor was also pretty good and took them a little over a year to match. But RIM? They've let the better part of 4 years pass without matching, let alone one-upping, the iPhone (and now Android/Windows Phone 7). Momentum does not last that long. * edited to fix Win 95 launch date (thanks meric)
    - meric 16y ago
      "Windows 95 was launched in late August of 2005."... 1995
slantyyz 16y ago
As much as I want RIM to succeed, it seems to me that they had four key strengths, of which only one remains: 1 - A reputation for rock solid build quality -- Some of their more recent phone releases, to me at least, seem to eking out margins by lowering build quality. I don't have the same view of their build quality that I used to. 2 - A killer physical keyboard -- Unfortunately for RIM, the Android, Windows Phone 7 and other physical keyboards out there are "good enough" that they're not enough to keep people on Blackberries. 3 - Push Mail - Google and Exchange do a satisfactory job with this on the iPhone, Android, etc. that it's no longer an advantage 4 - BBM - This seems to be the last thing they've got going for them. The messaging is free (a boon for kids) and private (also a boon for kids who don't want their parents to see who they're messaging with). To me, it seems like RIM really has an uphill battle to have a strong second act. They've rested on their laurels way too long, and given some of the comments made by the co-CEOs recently, it seems like they've got their own reality distortion field going. Say what you want about Steve Jobs' reality distortion field, but Apple's track record (since the second coming of Jobs) is that of releasing products other companies imitate. RIM can't really say the same. At least not recently.
- omh 16y ago
  I'd agree with those, but add one more that they still (just about) have: Security. The encryption and policies you can enforce on a corporate blackberry are far ahead of what you can do with iPhone or Android, and this means that the more paranoid companies are comfortable handing them out. Even this is being eroded as the competitors get "good enough" encryption/remote wipe though.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
- corin_ 16y ago
  Points 2 and 3 are still strengths in my eyes. Other phones may offer both these features, but nowhere near as well if the primary function for the phone (after phone calls) is emailing.
alanpca 16y ago
As one of the largest home-grown Canadian operations in this sector, I hope that they can again be a dominant company. Unfortunately, I just don't see this happening. From being blindsided by the iPhone to not even bothering on catching up with touch-screen phones, it seems like they have a leadership problem that starts from the top.
- redthrowaway 16y ago
  RIM really only had one idea, and every successful product they've had since then was an iteration thereof. I don't see them pivoting and becoming relevant again, especially not with WP7. RIM's looking a lot like Nokia these days. I'd love to see them succeed, but I don't see it happening unless they have something major in the works.
  - alanpca 16y ago
    Here's something completely outside of the box, but what about Android adoption? It would immediately bring more developers to their platform by proxy of Android. I do think the huge change in OS may be something that their devout users have a problem with, so it may not be an option.
    - redthrowaway 16y ago
      Also, they'd simply become another android manufacturer, and all of the uniqueness of their products would be lost. They'd be forced to have every phone with the three buttons and a touchscreen, and would be indistinguishable from Samsung. That may be a profitable path, but I don't see it happening if only because of pride. I think it's more likely we'll see Nokia take that route.
code_duck 16y ago
The Playbook hardware looks impressive to me. The main point the article makes, though is the important one - software. As a developer, I'm thinking equally about Android and iOS, and next about Windows Mobile (with a wait and see attitude). I can't see taking a lot of effort to create apps for RIM's platform or webOS unless a large audience was assured. With that sort of chicken-and-egg factor, I'm not sure if there will be enough software for this tablet to become successful enough to make software for it.

5 points by cwan 16y ago

PlayBook won't hit stores before the first quarter of 2011, but RIM is convinced it has a slumbering tiger on its hands. "It changes the game because we're making mobile fit the Web, not the other way around," says Balsillie. What does that mean? RIM has figured out a way to squeeze a full computing platform into a tablet, which is a bit like fitting the Incredible Hulk into an Armani suit. The PlayBook will deliver the entire Web at the same speed as a home computer can, without the need for special apps that repackage and abbreviate mobile content. Read: it can run Flash. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure that is a compelling enough selling point for most consumers. Native apps have grown in popularity because they provide a consistent, polished user experience specifically tailored to the device. One that is generally unmatched by most websites (unless they were specifically designed with the mobile/tablet form factor in mind).

st3fan 16y ago
Also note that their first quarter actually starts in may?
- corin_ 16y ago
  Q1 in software/hardware release dates is not the same as Q1 in finance, it litterally means the first 3 months of 2011.

joeguilmette 16y ago

A four year intermission between Act 1 and Act 2 is not a good sign.

jarek 16y ago
How long were the intermissions in Apple's play?
- 9oliYQjP 16y ago
  At first I was going to answer with "the better part of Steve Jobs' absence from the company". However, thinking about it a bit longer, I think Apple started getting into actual trouble after the launch of Windows 95. They had absolutely nothing to fight back with except marketing, which consisted mostly of cheap attack ads like these ones: - http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/08/congrtlnsw95_yo.html http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/08/congrtlnsw95_yo.html - http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n-JrcfOL7Y8/SKHqBnwaUWI/AAAAAAAAABg/k8baUcgo2Qk/s400/AppleWin95.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_n-JrcfOL7Y8/SKHqBnwaUWI/AAAAAAAAAB... Windows 95 was launched in late August of 1995. Prior to Windows 95, Apple wasn't exactly the best run company in the world. Their product line-up was an absolute mess. The Newton was acknowledged by everybody as pretty cool but it wasn't a resounding business success. However, most people still considered their products to be the best for desktop publishing and education which were huge markets at the time. Once Windows 95 was launched however, Apple's act as the only serious solution for desktop publishing and education was rightfully ended. Skip ahead two years and Apple is in serious trouble. People looked at them the same way they look at RIM today. They were has-beens living on borrowed time. They were in really really really big trouble as a company. Steve Jobs took the reigns of Apple as interim CEO in September of 1997 (http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1997/09/InterimCEO.html http://www.apple.com/ca/press/1997/09/InterimCEO.html). Roughly 8 months later in May of 1998, the iMac is announced, and Apple's second act -- one in which it is an industrial design leader -- begins. So existence by sheer momentum lasted approximately two years for Apple. I would say that the iPhone was RIM's Windows 95. Hell, Microsoft has pivoted and Windows Phone 7 is a great competitor to iPhone. Google's first shot at an iPhone competitor was also pretty good and took them a little over a year to match. But RIM? They've let the better part of 4 years pass without matching, let alone one-upping, the iPhone (and now Android/Windows Phone 7). Momentum does not last that long. * edited to fix Win 95 launch date (thanks meric)
  - meric 16y ago
    "Windows 95 was launched in late August of 2005."... 1995

slantyyz 16y ago

As much as I want RIM to succeed, it seems to me that they had four key strengths, of which only one remains: 1 - A reputation for rock solid build quality -- Some of their more recent phone releases, to me at least, seem to eking out margins by lowering build quality. I don't have the same view of their build quality that I used to. 2 - A killer physical keyboard -- Unfortunately for RIM, the Android, Windows Phone 7 and other physical keyboards out there are "good enough" that they're not enough to keep people on Blackberries. 3 - Push Mail - Google and Exchange do a satisfactory job with this on the iPhone, Android, etc. that it's no longer an advantage 4 - BBM - This seems to be the last thing they've got going for them. The messaging is free (a boon for kids) and private (also a boon for kids who don't want their parents to see who they're messaging with). To me, it seems like RIM really has an uphill battle to have a strong second act. They've rested on their laurels way too long, and given some of the comments made by the co-CEOs recently, it seems like they've got their own reality distortion field going. Say what you want about Steve Jobs' reality distortion field, but Apple's track record (since the second coming of Jobs) is that of releasing products other companies imitate. RIM can't really say the same. At least not recently.

omh 16y ago
I'd agree with those, but add one more that they still (just about) have: Security. The encryption and policies you can enforce on a corporate blackberry are far ahead of what you can do with iPhone or Android, and this means that the more paranoid companies are comfortable handing them out. Even this is being eroded as the competitors get "good enough" encryption/remote wipe though.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
corin_ 16y ago
Points 2 and 3 are still strengths in my eyes. Other phones may offer both these features, but nowhere near as well if the primary function for the phone (after phone calls) is emailing.

alanpca 16y ago

As one of the largest home-grown Canadian operations in this sector, I hope that they can again be a dominant company. Unfortunately, I just don't see this happening. From being blindsided by the iPhone to not even bothering on catching up with touch-screen phones, it seems like they have a leadership problem that starts from the top.

redthrowaway 16y ago
RIM really only had one idea, and every successful product they've had since then was an iteration thereof. I don't see them pivoting and becoming relevant again, especially not with WP7. RIM's looking a lot like Nokia these days. I'd love to see them succeed, but I don't see it happening unless they have something major in the works.
- alanpca 16y ago
  Here's something completely outside of the box, but what about Android adoption? It would immediately bring more developers to their platform by proxy of Android. I do think the huge change in OS may be something that their devout users have a problem with, so it may not be an option.
  - redthrowaway 16y ago
    Also, they'd simply become another android manufacturer, and all of the uniqueness of their products would be lost. They'd be forced to have every phone with the three buttons and a touchscreen, and would be indistinguishable from Samsung. That may be a profitable path, but I don't see it happening if only because of pride. I think it's more likely we'll see Nokia take that route.

code_duck 16y ago

The Playbook hardware looks impressive to me. The main point the article makes, though is the important one - software. As a developer, I'm thinking equally about Android and iOS, and next about Windows Mobile (with a wait and see attitude). I can't see taking a lot of effort to create apps for RIM's platform or webOS unless a large audience was assured. With that sort of chicken-and-egg factor, I'm not sure if there will be enough software for this tablet to become successful enough to make software for it.