We're a month short of 5 years since the iPhone was first shown: Jan 10, 2007.
Android was announced 10 months later: Nov 5, 2007.
Windows Phone was announced on Feb 15, 2010.
Today, RIMM market cap is $7 Billion.
Google is paying $12.5 Billion to buy MMI.
Does anyone see any hubris, irony or missed opportunities here?
It's interesting how trends work. RiM was only worth about $25 billion when the iPhone was introduced but then jumped to about $80 billion a year-and-a-half later about the time when Apple became the most profitable handset vendor in the world.
Their increase in business is because the iPhone brought attention to the smartphone market in ways that helped RiM but that was a short lived victory as their inability to grow with the industry has now made them obvious dinosaurs with no clear avenue for success.
PS: Looking forward to these Galaxy Nexus and ICS reviews from AnandTech.
Wish they would just admit to reality and close up shop already. RIM is a national embarrassment, and after having provided the world with Céline Dion, Alanis Morrisette, Nickelback, Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber, we do not f*cking need more of this. By any reasonable measure, Canada should already be a bomb crater.
I watched the streaming version of RIM's Developer's conference a few months ago. I was hoping to see some shred of positive news, regarding their phones. Nothing. All I saw was playbook, and (then it was called) BBX. Nothing about their phones.
I really liked my blackberries, loved the keyboard, texting, and email. Hated doing the web on it. Shortly after that conference, the corporation I worked for made our secure email available on iOS and Android. I already had an iPhone 4 as my personal "weekend" phone. I cancelled my Sprint/BB account, and moved 100% to my iPhone.
Seriously, I think its a stretch to see the new Phones in 2012 at all. This reminds me so much of the Palm situation, took them years to come out with anything, and by that time, the company was dead.
Of course, RIM does have some cash, and foreign market share.
While it doesn't look good, RIM has the potential to offer innovations. iOS is mechanically very nice but interface wise, it hasn't changed since iOS1. That's going on 5 years ago. Text centrism is still valid today. Would you type a paper on an iPhone, NO a thousand times no. RIM can still be arguably a more enterprise friendly animal than iOS. I used iOS for years and frankly it had nothing more to offer me. I am back to XP and OS 10.6, where I get things done.
I'm much more impressed by Macbook Air than by iPad or whatever. Not work compatible, IMO. And my company does offer it.
While it doesn't look good, RIM has the potential to offer innovations. iOS is mechanically very nice but interface wise, it hasn't changed since iOS1. That's going on 5 years ago. Text centrism is still valid today. Would you type a paper on an iPhone, NO a thousand times no. RIM can still be arguably a more enterprise friendly animal than iOS. I used iOS for years and frankly it had nothing more to offer me. I am back to XP and OS 10.6, where I get things done.
I'm much more impressed by Macbook Air than by iPad or whatever. Not work compatible, IMO. And my company does offer it.
Blackberries got their start in the enterprise. Businessmen and women were carrying Blackberries long before they were popular with consumers.
Then, they actually did get popular with regular consumers... with the addition of the Curve and Pearl. They were great for texting, they had Facebook, etc. I knew tons of people with Blackberries. BBM was huge.
Nowadays though... people are expecting more from their phone. I never hear anyone say "I'm getting a new Blackberry!"
RIM won't go out of business... but I think most of their business will go back to enterprise.
RIM won't go out of business... but I think most of their business will go back to enterprise.
But most enterprises are enabling open choice for handsets (cheaper than BES and you don't have to buy the handsets). There will be nothing to go back to soon enough. Most of my BB toting colleagues are moving to iPhone (a few nerds to Android).
Comments
Thoughts:
We're a month short of 5 years since the iPhone was first shown: Jan 10, 2007.
Android was announced 10 months later: Nov 5, 2007.
Windows Phone was announced on Feb 15, 2010.
Today, RIMM market cap is $7 Billion.
Google is paying $12.5 Billion to buy MMI.
Does anyone see any hubris, irony or missed opportunities here?
It's interesting how trends work. RiM was only worth about $25 billion when the iPhone was introduced but then jumped to about $80 billion a year-and-a-half later about the time when Apple became the most profitable handset vendor in the world.
Their increase in business is because the iPhone brought attention to the smartphone market in ways that helped RiM but that was a short lived victory as their inability to grow with the industry has now made them obvious dinosaurs with no clear avenue for success.
PS: Looking forward to these Galaxy Nexus and ICS reviews from AnandTech.
I really liked my blackberries, loved the keyboard, texting, and email. Hated doing the web on it. Shortly after that conference, the corporation I worked for made our secure email available on iOS and Android. I already had an iPhone 4 as my personal "weekend" phone. I cancelled my Sprint/BB account, and moved 100% to my iPhone.
Seriously, I think its a stretch to see the new Phones in 2012 at all. This reminds me so much of the Palm situation, took them years to come out with anything, and by that time, the company was dead.
Of course, RIM does have some cash, and foreign market share.
I'm much more impressed by Macbook Air than by iPad or whatever. Not work compatible, IMO. And my company does offer it.
While it doesn't look good, RIM has the potential to offer innovations. iOS is mechanically very nice but interface wise, it hasn't changed since iOS1. That's going on 5 years ago. Text centrism is still valid today. Would you type a paper on an iPhone, NO a thousand times no. RIM can still be arguably a more enterprise friendly animal than iOS. I used iOS for years and frankly it had nothing more to offer me. I am back to XP and OS 10.6, where I get things done.
I'm much more impressed by Macbook Air than by iPad or whatever. Not work compatible, IMO. And my company does offer it.
Blackberries got their start in the enterprise. Businessmen and women were carrying Blackberries long before they were popular with consumers.
Then, they actually did get popular with regular consumers... with the addition of the Curve and Pearl. They were great for texting, they had Facebook, etc. I knew tons of people with Blackberries. BBM was huge.
Nowadays though... people are expecting more from their phone. I never hear anyone say "I'm getting a new Blackberry!"
RIM won't go out of business... but I think most of their business will go back to enterprise.
RIM won't go out of business... but I think most of their business will go back to enterprise.
But most enterprises are enabling open choice for handsets (cheaper than BES and you don't have to buy the handsets). There will be nothing to go back to soon enough. Most of my BB toting colleagues are moving to iPhone (a few nerds to Android).