[collide.six]

RIM's market share is shrinking at an alarming rate, especially in the US, and with their miserable track record of delivering new feature-complete products on time I expect their total demise will happen in the coming year. My question though is what impact will this have on the rest of the mobile industry? With RIM finally out of the picture will innovation accelerate? I feel that RIM has been like an anchor that has been slowing down the rest of the mobile industry. With large enterprises and Governments being the most affected by RIMs lack of innovation. I would think that with Microsoft's expierence in the enterprise and business markets that it would be a perfect oppurtunity for them to innovate and succeed where RIM couldn't.

[KoreAairlines]

Blame canada!

[_StephenBB81]

So you think by removing a player innovation will increase?

I wonder what Industries that has proven to the the case.
RIM has been leading in Security innovation, beyond just their smartphones, they also have done wonders with compression and managing data, I really fail to see from the corporate side of things, or the government side of things were they failed to innovate?
The BlackBerry Bridge for the PlayBook was a very innovative solution to a back end problem with single PIN registration to an account. and to getting a tablet to pass FIPS approval so quickly

They failed to realize the magnitude Apps would have on the industry
they failed to find a fast solution for migrating their platform to an App friendly environment.
They failed to commercialize and monetize on the full touchscreen device effectively

These are NOT innovation issues, but more management issues.
I really am hoping that in 1 years time RIM has finally addressed the failures of the last 3 years, and are moving on to the right track without abandoning their existing strengths.

[KoreAairlines]

It's not going to make a difference, RIM is irrelevant. It's come to a point where competitors don't even mention BlackBerry anymore.

If RIM would be irrelevant for you ... you wouldnt be here.

[howarmat]

If RIM packs up shop then there is less competition. Less competition means less innovation is needed to succeed. I want more competition to make the entire market work harder to be better than its competition in every way they can.

[KoreAairlines]

so my presence on a message board makes RIM a fierce competitor in the mobile device arena? You're a genius.

Dont promote statements you dont belive in. Dont hate.

[AZ87]

RIM's market share is shrinking at an alarming rate, especially in the US, and with their miserable track record of delivering new feature-complete products on time I expect their total demise will happen in the coming year. My question though is what impact will this have on the rest of the mobile industry? With RIM finally out of the picture will innovation accelerate? I feel that RIM has been like an anchor that has been slowing down the rest of the mobile industry. With large enterprises and Governments being the most affected by RIMs lack of innovation. I would think that with Microsoft's expierence in the enterprise and business markets that it would be a perfect oppurtunity for them to innovate and succeed where RIM couldn't.

Wow.

First you conclude RIM will 'finally be out of the picture' based on RIMs decreased market share in the US while implying they are losing market share elsewhere, have you looked any the reports about anywhere other than the US? like the UK? Then you say one less competitor will help innovation. If you are able to believe in RIMs demise then I guess you'd also be able believe that one less competitor would actually help innovation.

RIM is the main innovator in the mobile market. Most of the other companies just improve specs which can only take you so far.

[Exiled Bulldawg]

In the grand scheme of things, whether RIM survives or not isn't really going to help or hurt innovation. That's because RIM hasn't really innovated in years. RIM's major innovation was push email to the handset. That's something Android, iOS, and WinMo can all do now. Compression? There are other companies which have done much more than RIM has in terms of advancing the algorithms for compression.

So, where does that leave a world without RIM? Well, it's a great company lead by a management team that lost its way. A company that owns so much intellectual property, but seems to be ham handed in trying to actually deploy any of it. Imagine if RIM got its act together and produced something as revolutionary as the original blackberry!!!

They could, but they would have to go back to being a risk taking organization. And that isn't in the company's DNA now.

[samab]

RIM got stuck between IBM vs SUN in the java wars. Nothing can be done.

You can only go 2 ways --- completely redo your OS like Apple did from classic MacOS to OSX or make an incompatible java version like Google (which invites huge lawsuits with billions of dollars in damages).

[Laura Knotek]

RIM got stuck between IBM vs SUN in the java wars. Nothing can be done.

You can only go 2 ways --- completely redo your OS like Apple did from classic MacOS to OSX or make an incompatible java version like Google (which invites huge lawsuits with billions of dollars in damages).

They are completely redoing the OS. QNX/BBX will replace BBOS next year.

[mustangv8]

That same question could have been brought against palm, until hpq got caught up in their mess.

[TrespassersW]

RIM's market share is shrinking at an alarming rate, especially in the US, and with their miserable track record of delivering new feature-complete products on time I expect their total demise will happen in the coming year. My question though is what impact will this have on the rest of the mobile industry? With RIM finally out of the picture will innovation accelerate? I feel that RIM has been like an anchor that has been slowing down the rest of the mobile industry. With large enterprises and Governments being the most affected by RIMs lack of innovation. I would think that with Microsoft's expierence in the enterprise and business markets that it would be a perfect oppurtunity for them to innovate and succeed where RIM couldn't.

This was mildly interesting until the words 'Microsoft' and 'innovate' appeared in the same sentence. As one of the most innovative organisations on the planet, RIM is not going to disappear anytime soon. Get over it.

[collide.six]

This was mildly interesting until the words 'Microsoft' and 'innovate' appeared in the same sentence. As one of the most innovative organisations on the planet, RIM is not going to disappear anytime soon. Get over it.

I'm nobody's fanboy including microsoft and even though they're late to the game I have to admit that with their Phone 7 "mango" OS they're thinking outside of the box and innovating in the mobile space. Which is more than i can say for android is which is basically a rip off other peoples ideas and intellectual property. Like it or not Microsoft has a huge presence in businesses. They've spent many years making products for them. If anybody can succeed where RIM can't I would say Microsoft has the best chance. Android is perceived as being too fragmented and not secure, Apple is mainly focused on consumers and always has been.

If RIM can pull themselves out of the downward spiral that they're in it could be one of the biggest comebacks in tech history. Unfortunately they don't have a Steve Jobs to help them. I give them a 20% chance of surviving long term.

[tmelon]

Honestly I don't think that it would change a single thing. The main competitors are Apple and Google and they've pretty much included all of the functionality that RIM has to offer. When/If RIM goes down it would be similar to WebOS, no one but the current users affected.

[blackberry-unlocking710]

I don't think that RIM is going to be down, i think that no one really knows what is going to be next year but sure there will be a change..

[laurah2215]

1. More competitors is good for innovation.
2. Most stocks on the market right now are dropping/doing poorly.

[Superfly_FR]

They are completely redoing the OS. QNX/BBX will replace BBOS next year.

Not really, in fact. It will complete the OSes currently running, that will stay loyal and running for years. Since BBX and its promising features both on phones and Playbook will be a "next gen" OS, previous OSes (5/6/7) reliability plus their widely installed/well known platforms and devices will make them last.
Total Cost of Ownership and Returns On Investments matters for companies, so that I'll bet BBX will be in its first cycle of life more dedicated to newcomers (individuals or companies). The rumored first BBX phone, with no keyboard, sounds that way to me.

P.S: Nice article from Kevin, with Saunders talking of all of this somewhere in the blog ... but can't find it back, sry.

[Superfly_FR]

I'm nobody's fanboy including microsoft and even though they're late to the game I have to admit that with their Phone 7 "mango" OS they're thinking outside of the box and innovating in the mobile space. Which is more than i can say for android is which is basically a rip off other peoples ideas and intellectual property. Like it or not Microsoft has a huge presence in businesses. They've spent many years making products for them. If anybody can succeed where RIM can't I would say Microsoft has the best chance. Android is perceived as being too fragmented and not secure, Apple is mainly focused on consumers and always has been.

If RIM can pull themselves out of the downward spiral that they're in it could be one of the biggest comebacks in tech history. Unfortunately they don't have a Steve Jobs to help them. I give them a 20% chance of surviving long term.

Well, I think MS is going to be a major actor, but W8 and office365 will only make it possible (in short). RIM is innovating right now and I think many are not aware (ggogle is your friend) of what the OS rebranding will imply. In terms of power, interoperability, security and UI, there will be a big big gap. Not only with current RIM's OSes, but even with competitors. This will make RIM consistent in its strategy (not being "alike") and well sit on several markets (companies, but also outside the NA : 56% of their incomes, already).
Let's see, the future is in 4 months ... or so