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The delay is not good but these shareholders have to understand this is RIM's last shot. Rushing something out before it's finished isn't going to save them.

by jsz0 14y ago

elithrar 14y ago
Absolutely. They need to get this right: they can't afford a traditional "v1.0" release when they are up against very mature competitors (iOS; Android; WP7/8). The Playbook was an example of their rushing to market, and the device lacked email, calendaring (basic features; especially for RIM) and relied on a BlackBerry for a full feature-set. The shareholders are no doubt frustrated at RIM's financial performance over the last several quarters, but things will only get worse if they put out an unfinished product. As they say: short term pains, (hopefully) long term gains.
- Belgica 14y ago
  I'm using WP7.5 at the moment on a Lumia 800, my previous phone being a Bold 9700. I don't think of Windows Phone as mature... Next one will be a Bold 9900, I was waiting for BB10, but I think their current models are excellent.
  - pedalpete 14y ago
    Are you outside North America Belgica? The reason I ask, is I'm Canadian, but have been living in South America and now Australia for almost a year. I'm amazed at how many Blackberry users I still see. I keep hearing all this talk about the ship going down, and I think to myself that the Blackberries I'm seeing are no more than 9 months old on average. How can things be so bad? At the same time, there is a serious perception in North America that iPhone is the only phone, and is trumping everybody. It's amazing how perception is such a big part of this market. I've got an iPhone, an android (Sony Experia S) and a Windows (Samsung Focus), and I think the iPhone is way behind both the experience on Android and iPhone. But it all just goes to show the market is big enough for multiple players.
    - potatolicious 14y ago
      > "How can things be so bad?" It's not so simple. Blackberries expanded aggressively into developing markets, as well as low-end markets in developed countries, by offering lower rate plans compared to traditional smartphones. This created a temporary lull where the gigantic market share losses being taken in North America and Europe were being absorbed by sales increases in developing markets - lower-margin sales, mind you, on products targeted at the lowest end of the segment as opposed to BB's upmarket positioning during its heyday. So, to recap: high-margin, high-end sales being completely decimated everywhere, but countered by expansion into low-margin, low-end markets at high-volume. And now, of course, the low-margin, low-end markets are being eaten alive by Android. So BlackBerry's time is truly up. This is reflected now in RIM's publicly available finances - the fiscal reality simply lagged behind market sentiment by a couple of years, that's all. I will make a wager: in 3 years you should go back to South America and Australia - I'm willing to bet that RIM's market share in those countries will resemble Blackberry's market share in North America today.

The delay is not good but these shareholders have to understand this is RIM's last shot. Rushing something out before it's finished isn't going to save them.

by jsz0 14y ago

The delay is not good but these shareholders have to understand this is RIM's last shot. Rushing something out before it's finished isn't going to save them.

elithrar 14y ago

Absolutely. They need to get this right: they can't afford a traditional "v1.0" release when they are up against very mature competitors (iOS; Android; WP7/8). The Playbook was an example of their rushing to market, and the device lacked email, calendaring (basic features; especially for RIM) and relied on a BlackBerry for a full feature-set. The shareholders are no doubt frustrated at RIM's financial performance over the last several quarters, but things will only get worse if they put out an unfinished product. As they say: short term pains, (hopefully) long term gains.

Belgica 14y ago
I'm using WP7.5 at the moment on a Lumia 800, my previous phone being a Bold 9700. I don't think of Windows Phone as mature... Next one will be a Bold 9900, I was waiting for BB10, but I think their current models are excellent.
- pedalpete 14y ago
  Are you outside North America Belgica? The reason I ask, is I'm Canadian, but have been living in South America and now Australia for almost a year. I'm amazed at how many Blackberry users I still see. I keep hearing all this talk about the ship going down, and I think to myself that the Blackberries I'm seeing are no more than 9 months old on average. How can things be so bad? At the same time, there is a serious perception in North America that iPhone is the only phone, and is trumping everybody. It's amazing how perception is such a big part of this market. I've got an iPhone, an android (Sony Experia S) and a Windows (Samsung Focus), and I think the iPhone is way behind both the experience on Android and iPhone. But it all just goes to show the market is big enough for multiple players.
  - potatolicious 14y ago
    > "How can things be so bad?" It's not so simple. Blackberries expanded aggressively into developing markets, as well as low-end markets in developed countries, by offering lower rate plans compared to traditional smartphones. This created a temporary lull where the gigantic market share losses being taken in North America and Europe were being absorbed by sales increases in developing markets - lower-margin sales, mind you, on products targeted at the lowest end of the segment as opposed to BB's upmarket positioning during its heyday. So, to recap: high-margin, high-end sales being completely decimated everywhere, but countered by expansion into low-margin, low-end markets at high-volume. And now, of course, the low-margin, low-end markets are being eaten alive by Android. So BlackBerry's time is truly up. This is reflected now in RIM's publicly available finances - the fiscal reality simply lagged behind market sentiment by a couple of years, that's all. I will make a wager: in 3 years you should go back to South America and Australia - I'm willing to bet that RIM's market share in those countries will resemble Blackberry's market share in North America today.