RIM Bets It All On BlackBerry 10

Can the BlackBerry device make a comeback?

By Rickash Emrith, Staff Writer

via » Zitona «, Flickr

Research in Motion (RIM) was once atop the mobile Smartphone world in 2008 with their revolutionary BlackBerry Smartphones. Fast forward to present day and the company is a shell of its former self, having massive layoffs of employees and a plummeting stock value, and undergoing major changes in the front office. Many have already counted out the Canadian company or likened their fate to that of Nortel, but don’t expect the BlackBerry creators to go down without a fight. We have all heard of the BlackBerry 10 devices that could put RIM back on the map and regain some of the market share they once had, but is it enough to save a company in freefall?

While Apple and Samsung hold the majority in the Smartphone market with their respective flagship devices the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3, they are also in the process of suing each other for patent and copyright concerns.

While the two giants of the industry are busy in the courts, RIM has been appealing to app developers. RIM has given the incentive that if an app you create earns $1000 of sales then RIM will pay you $10,000. Doing away with the conventional methods, RIM is forced to test their creativity and try to generate some buzz that the company has been lacking the last year and a half.

In the world of technology, time can be your worst enemy, and Research in Motion is learning that the hard way. In an effort to make sure the Blackberry 10 operating system is fully tested and ready on release, RIM has continued to announce the delays of the Blackberry 10 devices. The devices were once rumored to arrive in mid 2012, and then expected in time for the holiday season, but unfortunately they were a no show. Currently the device’s anticipated release is within the first 3 months of 2013. Missing the 2012 holiday season, a time when consumer electronic sales are at their highest, is a big risk for a company so desperate for sales.

Thorsten Heins remains supportive of delaying the new operating system by saying, “We’re not just building an update of Blackberry 7, we’re building a whole new mobile computing platform. Don’t underestimate the dynamic that this platform is going to create in the market.”

Research In Motion now faces the challenge of not only rolling out its new lineup of devices while they still can create a buzz, but they also face the challenge of changing the tech world’s perception of BlackBerry devices.  The brand power of BlackBerry has been plummeting fast from once a status symbol of the business elite to a horrible review in the New York Times last month (October 2012), saying BlackBerry devices were a source of embarrassment to their owners.

Though CEO Thorsten Heins has been nothing but optimistic with over 80 million users still using BlackBerry devices around the world, the company can nevertheless make a comeback. If the BlackBerry 10 devices fail to create the kind of buzz around their devices such as Apple and Samsung have in recent memory, it could spell the end for Research in Motion.

Sources

BBC

NY Times

Biz Journals