[shn'g]

Name one media company outside of the US that HASN'T bashed RIM?
Canada media does not count.

When Apple was near death in the mid nineties, there was not one US media company that supported them. Wired published the ultimate article in their 1996 epic "101 Ways to Save Apple."

Since then, Apple had to prove themselves over and over again. The multi-colored iMac got Apple back up to profitability, but it was the iPod that put Apple back in business. Jobs focused Apple to go after the consumer market, because software in consumer products sucked. Even during the iPod's peak in 2006, skeptics thought Apple was still a one-trick pony as iPod sales dominated Mac sales.

Before the iPhone, Apple was faced with having to perform perfectly. Especially when their biggest competitor, Microsoft, didn't. Microsoft's blunder in Vista was the best thing that happened to Apple. Apple doing things right became so common, that it wasn't news. The media is still vicious on Apple attacking them for every possible misstep:

Back dating options by Jobs
Releasing Intel Macs AHEAD of schedule caused lower sales in a quarter that was not expected to do bad and stock tanked
Antennagate
White iPhone delays
Jobs' succession plan
China manufacturing conditions
Delay in releasing the fabled iPhone 5
Final Cut Pro X refresh was released which lacked dozens of important features
The list goes on.

RIM was THE leader in smartphones and BlackBerry was a household name and now that they are in trouble, this is news.

Until they show something spectacular, the bashing is going to continue.

I don't care what you say there is not even close to enough bashing of Apple... Maybe one out of every 100 articles is a bad one. Besides that Canada is not easy on RIM whatsoever for some strange reason! So many people here argue with me and try to convince me not to buy blackberry products! I am so sick of hearing "too little too late for RIM!? I agree let's change media perception.

[LisaOnline]

There is no media bias. RIM has no one to blame except themselves. Their consistent lack of vision, market missteps and disgusting arrogance got them in this predicament so yes they deserve it. Why would media sites report on the stock being up 7%? The stock lost 80% of its value in a year, who cares about a measly 7%?

True true and true.

'Disgusting arrogance' is exactly right.

Didn't hear anyone complaining when the US media popularized the term 'crackberry' to describe the addictive (and at the time, exclusive) device.

People that complain of media bias remind me of Lazaridis last spring: "Not Fair!"

[Economist101]

I don't care what you say there is not even close to enough bashing of Apple... Maybe one out of every 100 articles is a bad one.

Ah. So instead of being against "bashing," you're for bashing as long as companies are bashed equally, or at least closer to it. Sounds great.

[buckwylder]

Roflmao!!!!

[phonegeek]

So I have been in this industry quite awhile (wireless not media) and I get to play with more devices per year than most. While Blackberries are my preferred device I am in the minority.

As for the media it is worth noting that right now some of the best advertising being done in the US (phone related..) is being done by Samsung and their illustrations of Apple loyalists blindly standing in line for days waiting for a sub standard device.

My point is that people are starting to hit Apple. Next is apps, the fact remains that apps are king and while 80-90% of them are useless wastes of bandwidth and storage space. Right now RIM is not competing in this area and until we see BB 10 and more seamless integration of Android apps this won't change.

As for media bias, yes there is wide spread media bias on all sorts of things. Most reporters are carrying iPhones and iPads and they love to hate Google so the idea of objective journalism died a very long time ago in America. That said RIM really isn't competing in the US, there isn't a coordinated conspiracy to kill RIM.

RIM needs to embrace what users want while not losing site of the core of what made them successful in the past. BB 10 is a start, seeing what actually comes out will be key on the OS but they need to maintain the ability to multitask, they need embrace Android apps and let users use appworld or Android Marketplace for the apps they want. They need to maintain the security and email systems that are at its core.

On the hardware front they need to get down to two or three form factors, one with a keyboard for those that want it, one that is a larger flat touch screen, and possibly a slider although its not my favorite form it is popular. Point is two or three forms, release them once a year, fastest processor you can get, most memory, best screen.

Granted much of this is my opinion but we have to admit RIM has a difficult task. They have to keep us, the powerusers in the top 5%, happy. Plus they have to build devices for the 95% that are mind numbed lemmings...


PG

[kingbernie06511]

You're APPL-ying the hate sauce a tad thick here.
The 9900 is a high end device. As are most of the OS 7 phones out right now.

They may not be according to your preferences, but that's your opinion, whether it be biased or not.

Frankly, if you think RIM bashing is deserved then you clearly don't understand the difference between being constructively critical and being a troll.

The former offers insight and a possible means in which to improve, the latter is merely self gratification of malicious intent.

As Kevin would say: GROW UP.

what?
I want to buy a high-end phone.... dual core, chat front camera, polished OS with polished apps...

[Tre Lawrence]

what?
I want to buy a high-end phone.... dual core, chat front camera, polished OS with polished apps...

Careful there, partner. They might tell you to buzz off and get an Android...

[BBOttawa]

phonegeek nailed it. The media is what it is, use it to your advantage or fail, complaining about it does nothing. RIM needs to put out some kick- phones with the BB OS10 launch, and I believe they will, and they need to get a decent marketing company. Problem will be solved then.

Yes there is bias against RIM, but people love to kick any company when they are down, the only way to show them is to get right back up and rock it with your products.

[BBOttawa]

phonegeek nailed it. The media is what it is, use it to your advantage or fail, complaining about it does nothing. RIM needs to put out some kick- phones with the BB OS10 launch, and I believe they will, and they need to get a decent marketing company. Problem will be solved then.

Yes there is bias against RIM, but people love to kick any company when they are down, the only way to show them is to get right back up and rock it with your products.

[Chaplain_Clancy]

I've been boycotting U.S. media for years.

[Economist101]

I've been boycotting U.S. media for years.

I would hope that isn't too difficult from 9000 miles away.

[kingbernie06511]

Careful there, partner. They might tell you to buzz off and get an Android...

these specs are what the first mini-playbook, BBX phone will be. And these specs are available on iOS and Android now. So I guess we will all get androids when the first BBX phone will come out.... in a certain way

[kingbernie06511]

on the other hand, maybe this donwhill fall for rim was inevitable. Java BB was too old, so they bought QNX. QNX for phones and apps takes a while to rewrite/adapt, and this is fine, and explains the software delays.

Now, maybe dual-core Java-based OS was not worth it. Im no programmer, but Java is not competitive at many levels, and might not work well on multicore. Then if only BB7 devices get a video chat before the switch to BBX, then maybe its not worth writing a video chat app for Java. In other word, Java might not have handled chat and dual-core, hence the wait for a finished QNX/BBX before we get top-notch hardware....


from what RIM has been suggesting, less form factors, and a more homogenous developper hardware platform is on its way.

[shn'g]

Ah. So instead of being against "bashing," you're for bashing as long as companies are bashed equally, or at least closer to it. Sounds great.

Is that what I said? No. I want the media to be fair, which I realize will never happen which makes this a pointless discussion maybe. But don't praise every single little thing Apple does because they have huge flaws that are overlooked (and yes that is just my opinion) but you don't hear about those flaws. But any flaw RIM makes and that's all they dwell on for months! I am just tired of hearing and reading the same media crap that really is not the whole story, and people believe it and dismiss the product without actually giving a device a try!

[Dapper37]

RIMs best work over the last 2 years has been behind closed doors, for us to see over the course of this year. The media has never acknowedged this fact and carries on beating a dead horse, compairing BB against others but protraying BB like its BB5. it is a perception attack. BB7.1 kicks a$$!

[Engire]

Ok so for purposes of this thread a "what if".

Take the media out of the equation as well as sales folk and advertising. Let a customer that has been living under a rock for awhile play with a Blackberry 9930, Motorola Razor and a Apple iphone 4s. At the end of the day what is that customer going to pick? Most likely Razor or IP4s. And that really is Rim's issue right now. Why pick a Bold when the iphone has Siri? Berries are great phones and I like my 9650 a lot but it has no "wow" factor like the other platforms have.

[Tre Lawrence]

RIMs best work over the last 2 years has been behind closed doors, for us to see over the course of this year. The media has never acknowedged this fact and carries on beating a dead horse, compairing BB against others but protraying BB like its BB5. it is a perception attack. BB7.1 kicks a$$!

It's a huge improvement. I will go as far as to say I liked it a lot.

I don't think it is the OS; it is the relative lack of ecosystem. If they can bridge that gap (pun on purpose), they may grab some mindshare.

[addicted44]

I don't care what you say there is not even close to enough bashing of Apple... Maybe one out of every 100 articles is a bad one. Besides that Canada is not easy on RIM whatsoever for some strange reason! So many people here argue with me and try to convince me not to buy blackberry products! I am so sick of hearing "too little too late for RIM!? I agree let's change media perception.

What are you talking about?

1) Were you around during "Antennagate"? For months, the only stories about Apple were "Antennagate". How many "-Gate" stories has RIMM had?
2) As a classic example, one of the biggest stories right now is Abuse of Labor in China. This story focussed completely on Apple, when ironically, Apple is the company that does the MOST to improve labor conditions in China, and is FAR better than its competitors (Samsung, and Dell) in this regard (although, clearly not good enough, but better than the rest). Yet, the media promotes a "Boycott Apple" (and implies buy Dell/Samsung) although Apple is much better than Dell/Samsung in this regard.

I will agree that the media has been harder on RIM than what it deserves. However, but RIM is not being singled out. Instead, it is just the media's penchant for exaggeration that is playing out, and is visible in their coverage of everything.

[Thunderbuck]

RIMs best work over the last 2 years has been behind closed doors, for us to see over the course of this year. The media has never acknowedged this fact and carries on beating a dead horse, compairing BB against others but protraying BB like its BB5. it is a perception attack. BB7.1 kicks a$$!

Yes and no. I'm completely prepared to believe that RIM has done some awesome work in the past two years, sure. But there have also been a lot of very public disappointments, too.

I'm a big booster for RIM. I hold stock, I genuinely believe the Playbook could be a spectacular product, and I know there to be phenomenally talented people in that company. But to try and move on without acknowledging what's happened does nothing to win back trust.

And blaming it on "media bias" is lazy and whiny.

[OMGitworks]

RIMs best work over the last 2 years has been behind closed doors, for us to see over the course of this year. The media has never acknowedged this fact and carries on beating a dead horse, compairing BB against others but protraying BB like its BB5. it is a perception attack. BB7.1 kicks a$$!

How can the media acknowledge what is being done "behind closed doors" and not yet released? All they have to go on is the missed dates and weak release of the PB. I don't get your logic - are they supposed to guess that what RIM is working on will be great even if they haven't seen it and report on that?????

[xandermac]

The media were calling the Death Knell for apple for 15 years. Just get used to it and move on. It's not bias, it's just the media. Even a successful company will get hammered for something or other.

[xandermac]

I don't care what you say there is not even close to enough bashing of Apple...

You'll probably have to wait for them to take a $500 million charge on unsold iPad inventory, lose 75% of their stock value and only sell 12 million phones. Then watch out!!!!!

[pmccartney]

RIMs best work over the last 2 years has been behind closed doors, for us to see over the course of this year. The media has never acknowedged this fact and carries on beating a dead horse, compairing BB against others but protraying BB like its BB5. it is a perception attack. BB7.1 kicks a$$!

How can the media elaborate on something they have very little to no information about. The media would never do that (I agree with you)

Why is it newsworthy if RIMM stock falls one day but it isn't news if it's up the next day and the next. RIMM has been holding for a week (Edit:until a few minutes ago). Not that that's great but it's not as bad as its been for quit some time. There hasn't been a word about RIMM, from a positive side, in the evening news here all week long. This is on the local Waterloo news. They beat RIM up here too. It's pathetic.

It's clear that RIM won't get any consistent positive press until they do something no one else does in a smartphone.

[Economist101]

Is that what I said? No. I want the media to be fair, which I realize will never happen which makes this a pointless discussion maybe. But don't praise every single little thing Apple does because they have huge flaws that are overlooked (and yes that is just my opinion) but you don't hear about those flaws. But any flaw RIM makes and that's all they dwell on for months! I am just tired of hearing and reading the same media crap that really is not the whole story, and people believe it and dismiss the product without actually giving a device a try!

You said "there is not even close to enough bashing of Apple," which suggests a)bashing under some circumstances is acceptable and b) you think Apple should be bashed more. It's not complicated.

[Dapper37]

Yes and no. I'm completely prepared to believe that RIM has done some awesome work in the past two years, sure. But there have also been a lot of very public disappointments, too.

I'm a big booster for RIM. I hold stock, I genuinely believe the Playbook could be a spectacular product, and I know there to be phenomenally talented people in that company. But to try and move on without acknowledging what's happened does nothing to win back trust.

And blaming it on "media bias" is lazy and whiny.

If you consider the scale & depth of RIMs competition. Well established internet, software providers in 2007/8. That basicly poored existing features into an emerging market (smartphones) Then you consider what RIM has actually acomplished over the last 18 months since buying QNX. If you truly take all the pieces together. imo you have more inovation in RIM.
So I don't believe most of the media have done their homework and are just a bunch of crows.