AP: BlackBerry to cede most consumer markets
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This is the kind of thinking that will finnish off RIM for good. I don't have a doctor that doesn't use an iPhone or iPad in his practice. How's RIM doing with medical apps? Legal apps? Real Estate? Professionals LOVE iOS. Go ahead and keep thinking their toys.03-31-12 09:34 AMLike 0 -
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I think this is a smart decision by RIM.
Apple and Samsung are SOOOO far ahead on the consumer side, they'd need to invent something really special to get back into the race.
But; who do they have to compete with on the enterprise side? Nobody? With some focus they could really churn out some awesome business oriented devices and tools.03-31-12 10:37 AMLike 0 -
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I can't believe we are still talking about this false dichotomy of consumer and business. Who do they have to compete with? Everybody! The super phone of the consumer space are the new business phones. These are no longer two, separate playing fields.I think this is a smart decision by RIM.
Apple and Samsung are SOOOO far ahead on the consumer side, they'd need to invent something really special to get back into the race.
But; who do they have to compete with on the enterprise side? Nobody? With some focus they could really churn out some awesome business oriented devices and tools.Bluemoonjules and Bobcat665 like this.03-31-12 11:01 AMLike 2 -
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Bit of a shame for those of us non-business users who have just started 2 year phone contracts - and it misses the point that the business market is not the BB's strength outside of the US.....oh well!03-31-12 12:27 PMLike 0 -
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Does well with young people in the UK because of BBM and it is much cheaper to get a good contract....Yup in trinidad and tobago digicell JUST released the iphone 3 months ago and everyone is tossing their blackberries away.
The reason blackberrys are doing well in 3rd world markets is that iphones and android were not offered there but now this is RAPIDLY changing.
Its over.03-31-12 12:36 PMLike 0 -
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I prefer a touchscreen - had the original Storm, just turned in a Nokia N8, now have touchscreen Curve....I am 49...old enough for ya?Actually, it is the keypad that the older users prefer, from what he has mentioned. The younger folks prefer the touchscreen. The younger folks did use BlackBerry, but when they had the option of using their own personal iPhones, rather than the company-issued BlackBerry, they turned in the BlackBerry.03-31-12 12:37 PMLike 0 -
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THANK YOU!! Someone finally said it. This is all just more Bizzaro talk from Waterloo!
Almost feels like stalling tactics.03-31-12 12:47 PMLike 0 -
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I would not say only young people like touchscreens. I just mentioned the observations my friend made re: physical keypad/touchscreen preferences amongst the users at his company.
I know retired folks in their 70s who have iPhones, and I know teenagers who have BlackBerrys (not touchscreen).03-31-12 01:34 PMLike 0 -
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i never agreed that this would be THE BEST THING for them to do. Im just saying what i think they will be doing now. Also, if they never FOCUSED on these things then they will not exist, but once they focus on them they will be made.
you dont know a doctor that uses a pb but another poster here said he goes to a doctors office where they all use pbs... so by your reasoning PBs are out selling ipads because i know 8 playbook owners and 3 ipad owners.
remember the world is a BIG place!03-31-12 01:39 PMLike 0 -
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To me, it feels like RIM still does not understand the current smartphone business. Here's a brief history:Originally Posted by [email protected]THANK YOU!! Someone finally said it. This is all just more Bizzaro talk from Waterloo!
Almost feels like stalling tactics.
Once upon a time, all cell phones were business phones. They were not consumer devices at all. Only the rich and powerful could afford them. Then, the posers got into the game who were neither rich nor powerful, but just wanted to look the part. Eventually, grandma has a cell phone, but that didn't come until much later. Cell phones became fashion accessories. Then people started canceling landline service in favor of cell phones. I can't say which phone did it, but at some point, someone made a phone that pushed it from business to ubiquity.
Enter the smartphone, and RIM.
All smartphones were business phones. Only the rich and powerful could afford them. Cut and paste from the above paragraph. In this case, I credit Apple for intentionally moving the smartphone into the consumer space. Others may disagree. In either event, there was never two types of phones: one for business and one for consumers. It was all for business, and it moved down into the consumer space.
That is the cycle of a great deal of consumer tech. Think GPS. The business phone of yesterday is the consumer phone of today, only better in every way. To say you want to go back to making business phones is to say you want to roll the clock back before consumers entered the picture. If you want to make something for business, you have to make something much better than what consumers have that only the rich and powerful can afford. You need a new category of phone, not an old one. Just know that, eventually, consumers will define that device as well. That is just the natural evolution of technology.
RIM does not want a business phone; they want a time machine.03-31-12 01:43 PMLike 0 -
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Im not sure there is ONE market, but i do agree that the divide is getting smaller and smaller.
I know that the canadian govt just bought a lot of BBs (the articles was posted on CB)... to me this shows that there is a MARKET for BB phones in places where security is needed over entertainment.
Further, my uncle was given a BB from work even though he already has an iphone bc his branch of the govt (nothing top secret or anything) prefers to communicate using BB.
Dont get me wrong, i think anything over a 60/40 split towards business focus may end up destroying RIM unless something MASSIVELY innovative gets released very soon, all im saying is there IS a difference in markets... even if it is VERY small.03-31-12 01:51 PMLike 0 -
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It would seem that RIM has no idea why things are happening his way.To me, it feels like RIM still does not understand the current smartphone business. Here's a brief history:
Once upon a time, all cell phones were business phones. They were not consumer devices at all. Only the rich and powerful could afford them. Then, the posers got into the game who were neither rich nor powerful, but just wanted to look the part. Eventually, grandma has a cell phone, but that didn't come until much later. Cell phones became fashion accessories. Then people started canceling landline service in favor of cell phones. I can't say which phone did it, but at some point, someone made a phone that pushed it from business to ubiquity.
Enter the smartphone, and RIM.
All smartphones were business phones. Only the rich and powerful could afford them. Cut and paste from the above paragraph. In this case, I credit Apple for intentionally moving the smartphone into the consumer space. Others may disagree. In either event, there was never two types of phones: one for business and one for consumers. It was all for business, and it moved down into the consumer space.
That is the cycle of a great deal of consumer tech. Think GPS. The business phone of yesterday is the consumer phone of today, only better in every way. To say you want to go back to making business phones is to say you want to roll the clock back before consumers entered the picture. If you want to make something for business, you have to make something much better than what consumers have that only the rich and powerful can afford. You need a new category of phone, not an old one. Just know that, eventually, consumers will define that device as well. That is just the natural evolution of technology.
RIM does not want a business phone; they want a time machine.
They went to bed last night as usual, only to wake-up and see that the world around them has changed.
But, the suit and tie culture has always found change daunting. Brains are hard-wired a certain way.03-31-12 01:54 PMLike 0 -
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I thought it was established that RIM is not leaving the "consumer" market and what happened was some reporter misunderstood what was said on the earnings call?03-31-12 02:03 PMLike 0 -
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This is the bit that really matters. The cell phone WAS a massive innovation. The smartphone was another pretty big step. It seems as if RIM's solution is to take a step back to the good old days of feature phones when everything was safe, locked down, no ecosystem to worry about, no Internet to serve up, or data plans to consider, and no consumer demands.
RIM does not need to reinvent the feature phone for business; they need to come out with the next massive innovation. They seem to want to retreat to their comfort zone. That is what I am talking about. They are invited to prove me wrong.03-31-12 02:04 PMLike 0 -
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One could say the same thing about computers. Computers were originally business tools. Most consumers could not afford computers in their homes. Microsoft beat Apple in the consumer segment, as well as in the business segment, since Microsoft licensed its software to run on hardware manufactured by other companies. Then the PC became a commodity, and prices decreased.To me, it feels like RIM still does not understand the current smartphone business. Here's a brief history:
Once upon a time, all cell phones were business phones. They were not consumer devices at all. Only the rich and powerful could afford them. Then, the posers got into the game who were neither rich nor powerful, but just wanted to look the part. Eventually, grandma has a cell phone, but that didn't come until much later. Cell phones became fashion accessories. Then people started canceling landline service in favor of cell phones. I can't say which phone did it, but at some point, someone made a phone that pushed it from business to ubiquity.
Enter the smartphone, and RIM.
All smartphones were business phones. Only the rich and powerful could afford them. Cut and paste from the above paragraph. In this case, I credit Apple for intentionally moving the smartphone into the consumer space. Others may disagree. In either event, there was never two types of phones: one for business and one for consumers. It was all for business, and it moved down into the consumer space.
That is the cycle of a great deal of consumer tech. Think GPS. The business phone of yesterday is the consumer phone of today, only better in every way. To say you want to go back to making business phones is to say you want to roll the clock back before consumers entered the picture. If you want to make something for business, you have to make something much better than what consumers have that only the rich and powerful can afford. You need a new category of phone, not an old one. Just know that, eventually, consumers will define that device as well. That is just the natural evolution of technology.
RIM does not want a business phone; they want a time machine.
Even today, Macs are still much more expensive than PCs. PCs are also favored by one huge segment of the population that is interested in entertainment, which is the gaming community. Even though gaming PCs tend to be more expensive than Macs, the ability to customize one's hardware to run specific software (which is PC-only, for the most part) keeps PCs most predominant for gaming.03-31-12 02:05 PMLike 0 -
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RIM is not officially leaving the consumer segment. What they have said is that they are unable to be a consumer darling, at least, on their own, and need to partner with other companies to provide those consumery bits that they are not very good at. (Naturally, this is my paraphrase, and not an exact quote.) To me, that still amounts to the same thing. They are saying that all they really know how to do is cater to business needs of six years ago. They will rely on partners, which they do not yet have, to bolt on the consumer bits. Good luck with that.03-31-12 02:11 PMLike 0 -
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Bingo... And they are switching in the business side too.... So if they think discovering what makes iphones and android-run devices attractive is a mistake, they really are more off target than we all feared.Originally Posted by [email protected]Stay or leave, the fans are leaving the stadium.03-31-12 02:33 PMLike 0 -
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isnt that why they acquired qnx and tat?!?!?!RIM is not officially leaving the consumer segment. What they have said is that they are unable to be a consumer darling, at least, on their own, and need to partner with other companies to provide those consumery bits that they are not very good at.03-31-12 02:35 PMLike 0 -
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AP: BlackBerry to cede most consumer markets
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