6 ms·

The interview showed glimpses of desperation, edginess and plain frustration which speak volumes about RIM's approach to handling the drastically altered smart

The interview showed glimpses of desperation, edginess and plain frustration which speak volumes about RIM's approach to handling the drastically altered smart phone market. Lazaridis kept using the words "singled out" - his reasoning behind it was because they were so successful. He was trying to convince that the carpet has not been pulled from below RIM's feet. It showed that RIM doesn't really "get" it. They think the world is being unfair to them - they think that as a problem - not the facts that they couldn't get decent, modern smartphone hardware with a competent OS (for the market) out in years. They are just like Nokia - except they believe they have no problems. Sure Blackberry has the best security architecture, it has never had security issues until they started using WebKit, lots of people still use it. There is no denying that. What is problematic is that those things do not matter in the battle that RIM is fighting against Android and iOS. No sane Joe with a dumb phone is going to find BB compelling for his smart phone upgrade. It's just not cool. What RIM needs is a dual OS/dual hardware strategy - let the BB folks keep doing "Pro" phones like they do today with BB OS. Let a fresh hardware and software team look at producing great consumer phones with a consumer OS. The OS part of it is a big problem - I am sure RIM could put together a great phone after trying - not so sure about the OS part. They could be better off taking Android and making it better and distinct.

melvinram 16y ago
The issue that the interviewer was asking about has nothing to do with smartphones. It's about governments wanting more access to Blackberry's records (from what I understand.) Yes, they haven't had a good response to iOS or Android but that's completely irrelevant to the article at hand.
- geoffw8 16y ago
  an interview is an interview, he didn't need the outburst. if he'd have skipped past it straight to the "we were singled out, we're used by..." part - I'm sure we wouldn't all be discussing it.
- blinkingled 16y ago
  It's not completely irrelevant. Having "security issues" is bad news for market share. The question wasn't asked in an isolated context - it was in the context of "bad news for market share". That's exactly why Lazaridis got emotional about it.
  - joshaidan 16y ago
    Mike's point was there are no security issues with the Blackberry. The issue is that there's too much security than what some governments can tolerate. The question puts the CEO right into a paradox that nobody can possibly answer, so it was fair for him to end the interview (or maybe he could say, a lot of this is under negotiation so he can discuss it). He can't be critical of the governments demands because they are in negotiations with them. He can't say they will weaken security, because that's not what enterprises want. Either way, you have to be proud of a company for taking a stand and developing secure products that could help protect civilians from terrible governments.
stashdot 16y ago
I am amused by this general punditry about a dual OS/dual hardware strategy. Yeah, that has just about worked out for everyone who has tried it.
- blinkingled 16y ago
  OS doesn't matter. Apps matter. Hardware - lots of successful companies have range of hardware, nothing new there. What you are missing is the rumored ability of QNX to be able to run Android apps. RIM may already have the dual strategy in place - they might run BB on Pro phones which can run Android apps and they can run QNX on Consumer phones which can also run Android apps. For the user - it's Android, not QNX or BB.
bruceboughton 16y ago
Oddly, Blackberry is insanely cool amoung the teen crowd in the UK (well, London anyway). Not sure why, since they have no need for business class email. BBM seems to be the main driver, even though there are plenty of altenatives on other platforms.
- togasystems 16y ago
  I have always been fascinated by BBM's popularity. Whenever somebody told me that BBM was their reason for buying a Blackberry, I always countered with text messaging is available on ALL phones. They counter with that you have to pay for text messaging and my final counter is that you already have a $60/month plan to support your Blackberry, why didn't you ask your phone company to throw in free text-messaging? They usually lower their head and buy an iPhone within three months.
  - tlear 16y ago
    People who use BB for BBM do not get $60 plans.. they get $25 plans that have unlimited bis traffic and very low normal data traffic. Not to mention you can pump media through it for free
    - bruceboughton 16y ago
      Every iPhone tariff in the UK has unlimited texts. Most non-iPhone tariffs as well...
      - tlear 16y ago
        Lucky you, here they skin you alive with the fees
  - andyana 16y ago
    It's not so much that BBM is cheaper than texting, but rather that BBM is the best messaging client I've used. Sure, there are alternatives, but they don't work as well. Yes, BBM is the reason I stay with blackberry, and unless my friends ditch it, I will continue to use it.
zaidf 16y ago
As I found out on my recent trip, Blackberry is wildly popular in India. iPhone, not as much. On my trip before, there was no Blackberry in the market. Zero.

melvinram 16y ago

The issue that the interviewer was asking about has nothing to do with smartphones. It's about governments wanting more access to Blackberry's records (from what I understand.) Yes, they haven't had a good response to iOS or Android but that's completely irrelevant to the article at hand.

geoffw8 16y ago
an interview is an interview, he didn't need the outburst. if he'd have skipped past it straight to the "we were singled out, we're used by..." part - I'm sure we wouldn't all be discussing it.
blinkingled 16y ago
It's not completely irrelevant. Having "security issues" is bad news for market share. The question wasn't asked in an isolated context - it was in the context of "bad news for market share". That's exactly why Lazaridis got emotional about it.
- joshaidan 16y ago
  Mike's point was there are no security issues with the Blackberry. The issue is that there's too much security than what some governments can tolerate. The question puts the CEO right into a paradox that nobody can possibly answer, so it was fair for him to end the interview (or maybe he could say, a lot of this is under negotiation so he can discuss it). He can't be critical of the governments demands because they are in negotiations with them. He can't say they will weaken security, because that's not what enterprises want. Either way, you have to be proud of a company for taking a stand and developing secure products that could help protect civilians from terrible governments.

stashdot 16y ago

I am amused by this general punditry about a dual OS/dual hardware strategy. Yeah, that has just about worked out for everyone who has tried it.

blinkingled 16y ago
OS doesn't matter. Apps matter. Hardware - lots of successful companies have range of hardware, nothing new there. What you are missing is the rumored ability of QNX to be able to run Android apps. RIM may already have the dual strategy in place - they might run BB on Pro phones which can run Android apps and they can run QNX on Consumer phones which can also run Android apps. For the user - it's Android, not QNX or BB.

bruceboughton 16y ago

Oddly, Blackberry is insanely cool amoung the teen crowd in the UK (well, London anyway). Not sure why, since they have no need for business class email. BBM seems to be the main driver, even though there are plenty of altenatives on other platforms.

togasystems 16y ago
I have always been fascinated by BBM's popularity. Whenever somebody told me that BBM was their reason for buying a Blackberry, I always countered with text messaging is available on ALL phones. They counter with that you have to pay for text messaging and my final counter is that you already have a $60/month plan to support your Blackberry, why didn't you ask your phone company to throw in free text-messaging? They usually lower their head and buy an iPhone within three months.
- tlear 16y ago
  People who use BB for BBM do not get $60 plans.. they get $25 plans that have unlimited bis traffic and very low normal data traffic. Not to mention you can pump media through it for free
  - bruceboughton 16y ago
    Every iPhone tariff in the UK has unlimited texts. Most non-iPhone tariffs as well...
    - tlear 16y ago
      Lucky you, here they skin you alive with the fees
- andyana 16y ago
  It's not so much that BBM is cheaper than texting, but rather that BBM is the best messaging client I've used. Sure, there are alternatives, but they don't work as well. Yes, BBM is the reason I stay with blackberry, and unless my friends ditch it, I will continue to use it.

zaidf 16y ago

As I found out on my recent trip, Blackberry is wildly popular in India. iPhone, not as much. On my trip before, there was no Blackberry in the market. Zero.