[cajualaddict]

if bb10 is anything like my pb, i'm getting one for sure. (of course i still want a hard keyboard for typing)

i like the fact that bb is "going to get better" , yes alot of people say (non bb users) it is "boring", outdate, nothing is new, inferior, for stiffs, battery pulls, copy cats, can only talk on the phone or type, screens are not big enough, didn't have touch screens, too little too late, slow processors, only have bbm, late to the party blah blah blah...

They for get the goods
- longer battery life with the option of carrying spares if used alot
- arguably the best hard qwerty with the option of full touch
- one of the better phones for reception but have the option of texting if voice is lost
- known as a tool for business but teens like it just as much as a crackberry
- I can drop/spill water etc accidentally and it would usually still tick like a timex watch
- Not forced to drain data (saving that for my pb) since i don't have an unlimited plan

os2 is going to help bb10 by loading apps for people that want it, refining the touch/type (did i say how much i liked the swipes) for people that like touch or type, top end cpu thats a first for bb and if anything like the pb will be very stable (not talking about the bugs or current missing pieces- ex i can't bluetooth my headset)

things i want to see on my bb10 device and might happen( don't know if there is a thread of this)- video chat, swiping (trackpad- sorry but it takes up too much real estate), front facing camera for video chat, easier app downloads, refined ui based on customer feedback (just like alex in app developments) and of course the bb logo because i am on crackberry.

[Interloper.]

The Playbook has been a disaster for RIM. How deep have some of you buried your heads to not see this?

The association between Playbook and the vaporware that is BB10 will significantly decrease the already slim chance BB10 phones have of succeeding in the *late 2012* (!) market it will be competing in. That is even assuming RIM will actually release in late 2012. Would anyone here really be surprised if "the latter half of 2012" turns in to "the first half of 2013"? If BB10 phones fail, and at present there is every reason to think they will, RIM in its present form is toast.

I could recount some of the stages of the Playbook trainwreck, but if you didn't hear it as it was happening and being covered by practically every general and tech news source on the planet, you will probably be deaf to it here as well. It will suffice to say that the damage has been phenomenal, both financially and probably more important, to RIM's reputation.

Here is another blow *today* (Dec 29) in the website of the Washinton Post business section. Beside the title "Biggest tech flops of 2011" guess what there is a picture of? Yep, in first place no less.

"The BlackBerry PlayBook
There are plenty of disappointments to choose from when it comes to RIM's performance in 2011, but most of them can probably be summed up with the BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM's bullheaded refusal to recognize its dire situation was most apparent in that bellwether device.

*********Boring hardware, unfinished software, a muddled OS development story, an even more muddle third-party development story, and above all a lack of sales all added up to a perfect storm of missed opportunities for the PlayBook.********

The tablet didn't even launch with an email client, RIM's core strength, and its future development as the base operating system for all upcoming RIM products is not clear at all. Even the name of the OS � first the PlayBook OS based on QNX, then BBX, then BlackBerry 10 (at some point in the future) � wasn't fully thought through.

*********It's no understatement to say that the lackluster PlayBook reception seriously damaged the company's image.*********

While there are still BlackBerry fanatics clutching their QWERTY keyboards tightly, it's with an air of schadenfreude instead of elitism � the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
Biggest disappointments of 2011 in tech - The Washington Post

Misuse of the term schadenfreude aside, the above is *yet another* sign that it's time to wake up and smell the coffin.

Unlikely as it is, I really hope RIM can get its **** together. I own a probably soon to be orphaned Playbook. Thousands of relatively well paid Canadians who will lose their jobs when RIM fails won't help my future tax bills either.

[cbvinh]

The other part is where we differ. I think all you need is a phone/tablet maker that is looking to distinguish themselves from all of the others. The majority of phone/tablet makers are running some form of Android. Honeycomb, Ice Cream or it's iOS. I'm an old Palm Pre guy and loved those "cards" but I don't think WebOS will find the road back to the OS market an easy one.

You need is a device maker who wants to break away from the pack and has absolutely nothing to lose by forming some sort of exclusive relationship with R.I.M.

I don't pretend to have it all thought out. Just throwing things out there.

With the current perception of RIM, I think for a third party hardware developer, BB10 is as much a crap shoot as webOS, but at least with webOS, they would have source code to write their own direction for the hardware and not be dependent on RIM, which still can't get their own hardware out.

As for strategy, I would rather have RIM be exclusive with BB10 and have a smaller market share for the moment. I'd rather have RIM be profitable with a small market share at the start and then have the product grow in popularity and then gain market share. If RIM goes after market share by cannibalizing profits, like now with the Playbook, it would be difficult for them to raise prices again. They'll be stuck trying to make money on volume and back-end services (app sales, music, movies, books, etc.), which they haven't gotten in place yet.

I don't have the answers either, but do enjoy speculating about it.

[sinskey3643]

All the bad press is seriously to the point of nonesense. However I do remember reading an article last summer saying what RIM should "do with their 3 billion in cash". Latest reporting was more like 1.5 billion cash. There is a focus on subscriber growth worldwide as being important that misses the point that if you spend cash faster than you make it, you will eventually be out of business. I hope they can keep it going. That is a scary burn rate.

[sinskey3643]

The Playbook has been a disaster for RIM. How deep have some of you buried your heads to not see this?

Unlikely as it is, I really hope RIM can get its **** together. I own a probably soon to be orphaned Playbook. Thousands of relatively well paid Canadians who will lose their jobs when RIM fails won't help my future tax bills either.

The best thing that ever happened to RIM with regards to PB is the recent firesale that got so many units in the hands of the public. As annoyed as I am for paying $700 for the 64GB version back in April that is now $100's of dollars cheaper, the writedown they had to do is helping create a critical mass of users that finally will draw the attention of app developers. The people that say PB "sucks" are idiots. PB is a fantastic piece of hardware......it's just waiting for the software to catch up. There will be many a college course in the future showcasing how flawed the PB rollout was but seriously, if RIM can pull off the software amazement they are trying to, they will be totally golden and everyone will compare them to Apple of the late '90s. I have iPhone and iPad and the QNX interface is SOOOO much better. RIM just needs to seize the opportunity. You Canucks kicked our US a**es in Hockey. This should be a piece of cake.

[[email protected]]

All the bad press is seriously to the point of nonesense. However I do remember reading an article last summer saying what RIM should "do with their 3 billion in cash". Latest reporting was more like 1.5 billion cash. There is a focus on subscriber growth worldwide as being important that misses the point that if you spend cash faster than you make it, you will eventually be out of business. I hope they can keep it going. That is a scary burn rate.

Yeah. Jay Z's total net worth is getting closing to R.I.M's. Maybe he should buy them!

[[email protected]]

The best thing that ever happened to RIM with regards to PB is the recent firesale that got so many units in the hands of the public. As annoyed as I am for paying $700 for the 64GB version back in April that is now $100's of dollars cheaper, the writedown they had to do is helping create a critical mass of users that finally will draw the attention of app developers. The people that say PB "sucks" are idiots. PB is a fantastic piece of hardware......it's just waiting for the software to catch up. There will be many a college course in the future showcasing how flawed the PB rollout was but seriously, if RIM can pull off the software amazement they are trying to, they will be totally golden and everyone will compare them to Apple of the late '90s. I have iPhone and iPad and the QNX interface is SOOOO much better. RIM just needs to seize the opportunity. You Canucks kicked our US a**es in Hockey. This should be a piece of cake.

"If" is the strongest word in your post unfortunately. It may also turn out to be R.I.M's epitaph here in the US. This morning's news is that they've fallen to about 6% of the US cell phone market.