[CHIP72]

I know many people who are Blackberry fans or follow Blackberry believe or are starting to believe that Blackberry will not recover from its current woes, at least in the form in which it currently exists (i.e. as a company which controls an entire ecosystem - creating/managing an OS, building the hardware for that OS, and building or at least managing the software for that OS). My question for everyone who believes that is the case is when did Blackberry "jump the shark"?

(For those of you not familiar with the term, here's a definition - Jumping the shark.)

In my opinion, Blackberry probably jumped the shark when they 1) initially scoffed at the iPhone in 2007 and 2) in response to the iPhone, released the poorly received Blackberry Storm in late 2008. (I know, I cheated by providing two events rather than one.)

What are everyone else's thoughts?

NOTE: My apologies to those of you who still believe Blackberry is doing alright or can turn things around - this thread isn't meant to bash Blackberry (or at least not bash current Blackberry products, especially BB10 devices) but rather to allow those who aren't confident about Blackberry's future prospects to identify and discuss when the company really started heading in the wrong direction.

[qbnkelt]

I would place it at the Playbook. The Storm was a reactionary device, but the PlayBook was a "me too" that showcased a complete inability to grasp what the consumer wanted.

That said.....I don't believe it's all over yet.

[robsteve]

My guess would be when they introduced the original Torch 9800. I forget the term they used, maybe leapfrog the competition, but is was probably not as good as the iPhone available at the time.

Posted via CB10

[BigBadWulf]

I don't think they had a Fonzie moment, but the iPhone highlighted their ability to stick their heads in the sand, and they've never managed to fully pull them out since.......

Yet

Yes, I still hold out some hope, little that it is.

[fearmantis]

lol, yeah right.

BB Z10 Rocks!

[BigBadWulf]

My guess would be when they introduced the original Torch 9800. I forget the term they used, maybe leapfrog the competition, but is was probably not as good as the iPhone available at the time.

Posted via CB10

You're right! That was jumping the shark

[amazinglygraceless]

The day the released they Pearl 8100 and here is why.

The Pearl 8100 (my all time favorite BB by the way ) was a departure for BlackBerry in that it was their first phone with a camera, media capabilities and expandable memory, you know, stuff consumers liked / wanted. BlackBerry had a golden opportunity to gain a foothold in the consumer space with that phone but no...they turned out an endless stream of devices that were basically the Pearl with maddeningly simple tweaks (Curve - full QWERTY, Bold - overweight Curve, 8900 & 9700 - Bold on Weight Watchers, 9800 - Bold 9700 and Storm had a schizophrenic baby, etc....) Instead of listening to it's customers and pushing the envelope a bit they stayed with what always worked for them under the assumption that it always would.

The Pearl 8100 was a great consumer space jumping off point...BlackBerry just never actually jumped off.

[Bbnivende]

I agree with the Torch 9800 comment but there was a second chance with the Z10 and they jumped another shark by installing a weak battery, poor battery management and by not offering a no excuses warranty to cover such items as the reboot issue. Overall they jumped the shark by not understanding and implementing what current legacy owners wanted with respect to e-mail and texting.

My own realization came when I tried out the browser on the Q10 and discovered to real advantages to upgrade.

[raggdoll]

I don't know about your "jump the shark" term, would it not just be easier to say "the beginning of the end" ?

Which for me was when BB introduces a tablet, WITH NO E MAIL. This, from a company revered for e-mail capabilities. Crazy.

[Poirots Progeny]

I feel the playbook was an ill conceived device I an attempt to step into a market place BlackBerry knew nothing about. It didn't end well. Perhaps 2007 was the epiphany moment for the two ceos: they were falling behind the consumer wants and now just did whatever they thought would be little enough. Didn't work.

Posted via CB10 on my BlackBerry Q10

[Poirots Progeny]

I don't know about your "jump the shark" term, would it not just be easier to say "the beginning of the end" ?

Which for me was when BB introduces a tablet, WITH NO E MAIL. This, from a company revered for e-mail capabilities. Crazy.

Good point.

Posted via CB10 on my BlackBerry Q10

[Joel Diplan]

Tablet with no BBM

[kbz1960]

I feel the playbook was an ill conceived device I an attempt to step into a market place BlackBerry knew nothing about. It didn't end well. Perhaps 2007 was the epiphany moment for the two ceos: they were falling behind the consumer wants and now just did whatever they thought would be little enough. Didn't work.

Posted via CB10 on my BlackBerry Q10

I'm starting to think the playbook was the first dumb terminal that Thor or BBRY talks about. It just had more than a dumb terminal would for testing BB10 so it was capable of doing things on it's own. I could see their thoughts on PIM too as for business to share a tablet with all where no ones personal info would be on it but we all know how that worked out too.

[lc474]

PlayBook ruined them. Over a billion dollars developing it, no calender, email, or BBM, all the things that make BlackBerry a BlackBerry. Investors and media were all very excited for this device, and they flat out blew it, and for what?
I've always wondered what the PlayBook could have been if they only just waited and did it right. In hindsight, there was absolutely no reason to rush this product.

[David Murray1]

Well, the delay in releasing BB10, clearly ...

[ElGusta]

the day they gave they go ahead to start design and production of the blackberry style (9670)... the fact that they thought such an out-of-date monstrosity would sell just shows how incompetent and of of touch they were with the market

[blackmoe]

Perhaps when they took almost an extra year to "get it right" and then came out with an unpolished OS and underwhelming hardware (in the wow factor dept). For many OS7 power users, BB10 launched and still is missing many features from BB07 thus leaving the "I upgraded for this???" feeling for many.

[CHIP72]

I don't know about your "jump the shark" term, would it not just be easier to say "the beginning of the end" ?

"Jump the shark" has actually become a pretty common phrase among a fairly large segment of the U.S. population. It is also less of a mouthful and more "snarky" than "the beginning of the end". (You are correct that those two phrases mean essentially the same thing.)

[cleonwayne]

Its pretty much over, ppl have iphones now just like when everybody had bb's in 2008

[EchuOkan1]

I would place it at the Playbook. The Storm was a reactionary device, but the PlayBook was a "me too" that showcased a complete inability to grasp what the consumer wanted.

That said.....I don't believe it's all over yet.

Great point. I completely agree with you. =0)

Posted via CB10

[sentimentGX4]

I pin it before the Playbook to when Blackberry purchased QNX. Blackberry effectively diversified into an industry where it had absolutely no experience. It was the day Blackberry missed the Android train.

[nquyen]

The day the released they Pearl 8100 and here is why.

The Pearl 8100 (my all time favorite BB by the way ) was a departure for BlackBerry in that it was their first phone with a camera, media capabilities and expandable memory, you know, stuff consumers liked / wanted. BlackBerry had a golden opportunity to gain a foothold in the consumer space with that phone but no...they turned out an endless stream of devices that were basically the Pearl with maddeningly simple tweaks (Curve - full QWERTY, Bold - overweight Curve, 8900 & 9700 - Bold on Weight Watchers, 9800 - Bold 9700 and Storm had a schizophrenic baby, etc....) Instead of listening to it's customers and pushing the envelope a bit they stayed with what always worked for them under the assumption that it always would.

The Pearl 8100 was a great consumer space jumping off point...BlackBerry just never actually jumped off.

But man, at the time, the Pearl was amazing. Favorite phone BlackBerry by far.

[Cylon69]

I would place it at the Playbook. The Storm was a reactionary device, but the PlayBook was a "me too" that showcased a complete inability to grasp what the consumer wanted.

That said.....I don't believe it's all over yet.

I love my playbook! It's the best!

Poor marketing!!! No brand awareness.

I think there is still hope anyway

[reeneebob]

But man, at the time, the Pearl was amazing. Favorite phone BlackBerry by far.

Still have mine.

And my 8330 with its whopping 96Mb of RAM.

Loved those phones.

To me the first mistake was the Storm, but the jump the shark was the Playbook.

Tippy tapped from my iPhone 5, from me to you.

[h20work]

Tablet with no BBM

Maybe we can side load the android app. I hear it's coming soon