[bobauckland]

Are you a developer?
Because I see that a lot of developers are being inspired. They have added 7000 developers in the first quarter this year. I personal am a developer i am more inspired for BlackBerry 10 then i ever with their old OS.

Im not a developer, no.
I have not read of any major developers of apps that are missing from the ecosystem saying they're bringing those missing apps to the ecosystem because of BB10 or Alec Saunders.
Its good to hear you are inspired for BB10. May I ask which programs you've developed?

If I was a developer, I wouldnt be happy about the lack of clarity and honesty, and lack of understanding RIM has shown when looking at apps on BB7, and that doesn't bode well for BB10 unless theres management changes.

[reeneebob]

I concur. I did not see anything in that article that was inaccurate. The headline might be misleading, but the author said nothing about Thorsten being no good, and doing a bad job. I even read through it twice. As i've mentioned above, its only saying that Thorsten definitely has his work cut out for him, and BB10 needs to be that damn good.

a little off topic, but BTW reeneebob, how are you finding the Lumia 710???

I do admit I have to wonder how many in the thread really REALLY read through it completely.

RE the off topic part - I LOVE IT. So fast, smooth, and the way all the screens flow into each other (which I hope is what RIM is going for with flow in BB10), the font is so clean, the live tiles...I am so impressed by Windows Phone 7.5. I love the Me and People live tiles - I would kill to see something similar in iOS and BB10. Battery is on par with my 9900, so it's not perfect (I want it to last as long as my iPhone, so until either the 9900 or 710 lasts 24+ hours like my iPhone does I will always be a little unhappy about battery) but it gets through the day and to be fair I think the battery is still settling.

[undone]

Im not a developer, no.
I have not read of any major developers of apps that are missing from the ecosystem saying they're bringing those missing apps to the ecosystem because of BB10 or Alec Saunders.
Its good to hear you are inspired for BB10. May I ask which programs you've developed?

If I was a developer, I wouldnt be happy about the lack of clarity and honesty, and lack of understanding RIM has shown when looking at apps on BB7, and that doesn't bode well for BB10 unless theres management changes.

IF I was a developer I wouldnt even bother thinking about old Java Based apps from the early BBOS. Because the new and old OS are so different there is no reason to believe they will work. Heck I think even from within the BBOS versions you had apps that didnt work from one version to the next. The target is new apps on the QNX based kernel and RIM did well with there reach out to developers. Without happy developers, RIM was doomed. Laying the foundation was the most important thing they could do.

[bobauckland]

IF I was a developer I wouldnt even bother thinking about old Java Based apps from the early BBOS. Because the new and old OS are so different there is no reason to believe they will work. Heck I think even from within the BBOS versions you had apps that didnt work from one version to the next. The target is new apps on the QNX based kernel and RIM did well with there reach out to developers. Without happy developers, RIM was doomed. Laying the foundation was the most important thing they could do.

Absolutely.
Have they reached out to the devs they've pissed off though?
Tunein who had their PlayBook client held back by RIM for ages until they got fed up waiting?
Devcellent who took the trouble to develop a great app and then had it pulled for no reason?
What about YouMail who pull their app and then have Alec Saunders come up with a blog post about how they're no longer relevant. Burning bridges much?

Important developers are not going to be swayed by fancy T shirts or a free PlayBook. They won't appreciate the amateur developer relations. And RIM doesn't seem to have a plan on how to attract major devs.
BGR got a lot of stick for his articles around BB World but one important thing I feel he got right was, its further signs that RIM still doesn't have a clue whats important for their ecosystem and their consumers. They should have had major app devs there to show new partnerships so that people aren't left wondering if the major apps will be on BB10 or not.
Instead they had VIP guests present that wouldn't excite most normal consumers.
And I think its fair to hold the new CEO accountable for the fact that he's made no major moves in 3 months to forging important partnerships with major developers, which is pretty much the only drawback to having a BlackBerry at the moment, the lack of apps.

[soren203]

interesting I guess....

[aikmanr]

Im not a developer, no.
I have not read of any major developers of apps that are missing from the ecosystem saying they're bringing those missing apps to the ecosystem because of BB10 or Alec Saunders.
Its good to hear you are inspired for BB10. May I ask which programs you've developed?

If I was a developer, I wouldnt be happy about the lack of clarity and honesty, and lack of understanding RIM has shown when looking at apps on BB7, and that doesn't bode well for BB10 unless theres management changes.

I am a developer for BBOS and I'm now moving towards BB10 development in the near future. I went to BB10 Jam and was very impressed with the massive shift in support for developers and improvement in tools for BB10. Since Alec Saunders has come on board, the goals and vision of BlackBerry has been clearly layed out to developers. Prior to him, it was absolutely atrocious. The tools were(are) really bad for BBOS, the documentation was worse and the communication with developers was non-existent. This has changed with Saunders, TAT and QNX being added to the company. Cascades will be a great tool for building apps, the documentation is nicely laid out and easy to find(go look at developers.blackberry.com) and the feedback from RIM is nearly instant nowadays. All of this has accelerated since Thorsten became CEO.

The only issue that developers have now is the same one that investors have: will BB10 phones sell? Will we have a big enough user base to sell our apps to? That's the only real concern for us.

[Blackberry_boffin]

The biggest problem for RIM is their market share is not growing in line with global smartphone penetration. That is all Wall Street looks at.
This article is so flawed its laughable, it took one look at the stock and LEAPT to conclusions about Heins' first 100 days.
If a new device had been released within the last 100 days and somehow turned the fortunes of RIM around how many of you think the credit would have gone to Heins? Yes, none.
Even at Apple everything happening now is still credited to Steve Jobs yet he left us more than 100 days ago.
How on earth could Heins (or anyone) have turned RIM around in 100 days?
I would say in the first 100 days if you are handed the reins of a tech company at which you are told your FIRST consumer release is make or break, all you do is assess where you are to see what you have been doing wrong, try to gauge the public's and Wall Street's perceptions of your company, reshuffle stuff, get rid of dead wood, make key appointments, lay down the strategy, make and communicate key targets to staff and stakeholders. Put your head down and work.
There is no magic bullet.

[bungaboy]

Horrible, inaccurate title.

Rehash of everything reported in the news since Thor started with the typical jabs at RIM.




agreed

Yes, this is just another RIM job, another pile on by the Glob & Fail. Sadly, Canada's purported national newspaper. In reality not fit to wipe your . . . . . well you can fill in the blank.

[Zidentia]

and ... he's German:
Talk not much. No show. Target. Concentrate. Sharpen. Inovate. Sharpen. Demonstrate. Sharpen. Delivrate. Sharpen. Release. Market.
When I see RIM current strategy, I can't refrain making a // with Audi cars in Europe. And I wish the same success to RIM.

Now, about the OP : 100 days, to reverse a corporation strategy/image ? C'mon, we're talking about ... Years ! Say 2 or 3 years, got it; the guy just signed for a dozen of 'my personal view' papers.

He is a German true enough. I am as well and we are methodical, far sighted and reserved.

Expecting results in one quarter shows a lack of understanding of any business let alone a large corporation.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9650 using Tapatalk

[dbmalloy]

Absolutely.
Have they reached out to the devs they've pissed off though?
Tunein who had their PlayBook client held back by RIM for ages until they got fed up waiting?
Devcellent who took the trouble to develop a great app and then had it pulled for no reason?
What about YouMail who pull their app and then have Alec Saunders come up with a blog post about how they're no longer relevant. Burning bridges much?

Important developers are not going to be swayed by fancy T shirts or a free PlayBook. They won't appreciate the amateur developer relations. And RIM doesn't seem to have a plan on how to attract major devs.
BGR got a lot of stick for his articles around BB World but one important thing I feel he got right was, its further signs that RIM still doesn't have a clue whats important for their ecosystem and their consumers. They should have had major app devs there to show new partnerships so that people aren't left wondering if the major apps will be on BB10 or not.
Instead they had VIP guests present that wouldn't excite most normal consumers.
And I think its fair to hold the new CEO accountable for the fact that he's made no major moves in 3 months to forging important partnerships with major developers, which is pretty much the only drawback to having a BlackBerry at the moment, the lack of apps.

First very well thought out post....The issue I have with your post is your view of Developers relations.... Being fairly familiar with the Apple and Androd side of development ( brother has developed many Apps for both )

Yes RIM has treated their Developers badly and that does not change overnight.... But conversely in the land of Andoid and Apple.... and dealing with Apple can be like pulling teeth unless you are a huge devloper.....can give you horror stories with developers... So it is not just with RIM....

I would rather see RIM tight fisted with app development rather than the Android model of the wild west....

[Stewartj1]

Yes, this is just another RIM job, another pile on by the Glob & Fail. Sadly, Canada's purported national newspaper. In reality not fit to wipe your . . . . . well you can fill in the blank.

The G&M is almost as credible as the National Enquirer.

[_StephenBB81]

Absolutely.
Have they reached out to the devs they've pissed off though?
Tunein who had their PlayBook client held back by RIM for ages until they got fed up waiting?
Devcellent who took the trouble to develop a great app and then had it pulled for no reason?
What about YouMail who pull their app and then have Alec Saunders come up with a blog post about how they're no longer relevant. Burning bridges much?

Important developers are not going to be swayed by fancy T shirts or a free PlayBook. They won't appreciate the amateur developer relations. And RIM doesn't seem to have a plan on how to attract major devs.
BGR got a lot of stick for his articles around BB World but one important thing I feel he got right was, its further signs that RIM still doesn't have a clue whats important for their ecosystem and their consumers. They should have had major app devs there to show new partnerships so that people aren't left wondering if the major apps will be on BB10 or not.
Instead they had VIP guests present that wouldn't excite most normal consumers.
And I think its fair to hold the new CEO accountable for the fact that he's made no major moves in 3 months to forging important partnerships with major developers, which is pretty much the only drawback to having a BlackBerry at the moment, the lack of apps.

IF the apps of the major devs aren't being released until BB10, then there is no strategic reason to announcement early, and risk the apps not being ready for BB10 launch,

RIM HAS been forging partnerships with some bigger app houses, and some inroads have been made with a few big players, but announcements require strategy, they can't over promise under deliver anymore.

Also Youmail was being B*tchy and trying to ride the negative RIM wave, they got called on it, and they are hardly a large app house, more of a 1 trick pony that other pony's are copying it's tricks.

[metz9444]

To say the headline is strange is an understatement. I've read quickly through the long article and it seems that the writer was simply accounting the events of the first 100 days that thorsten has been the CEO. I did not get the sense that he was implying that thorsten is no good, and very bad as RIM's CEO. My take from that article putting aside the title is that Thorsten has a tough job ahead of him when he took the job.


quote from the first page of the article:
"In the next 100 days, Heins will have the toughest job in corporate Canada, if not the world. While it may be unfair to analyze the reign of a CEO based on a single fiscal quarter�after all, much of what Heins is shovelling through now is the managerial detritus of the previous administration�it�s also the case that RIM may not have much time. (Remember how quickly Palm disintegrated?) From Day One, Heins will be tasked with maintaining momentum in the company�s overseas strongholds�emerging markets such as Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria�while working to stem market share losses in North America, where the handset maker�s failures are magnified by an unforgiving competitive landscape that includes Apple and Google. And, more importantly, he needs to release a flawless new BlackBerry 10 device, with a rich application and content portfolio, ideally before kids go back to school. If he doesn�t, well, RIM may never recover."


quote from the last paragraph of the article:
"If RIM is to mount a comeback, it will be based largely on software�an area in which it has traditionally lagged. But it can be done. There was a time in North America when the Big Three automakers looked like they had rusted away; they have since clawed their way back, reinventing themselves."

Perhaps the article title simply meant that "A tough first 100 days for Thorsten Heins as RIM's CEO?

Perhaps the title simply meant that the first 100 days for Thorsten is not going to be smooth-sailing (no good). It will be a tough job (very bad), as the task he has to accomplish ahead of him is not easy?

anyone else saw it the way i did???

Thank you!
I was put off by the headline but I must say I'm even more put off by the majority of the reaction on here. The article was mostly a behind the scenes summary and I actually thought it was cautiously positive. Yes the title seemed like it was pasted from another article but people let's actually read the article before we slam it as yet another example of the anti-RIM media. I would agree that in North America, the US in particular, media coverage has been suspect but like this author noted, sentiment is beginning to change.

[jayemmbee]

Heins reminds me of Obama. Considering what he walked into he's doing a good job even though the predecessor the bed for him. But it's still not good enough for anyone and everyone expects much more. Than he can do given the tools he has and what he has to work against

[sahil123]

The article was a nice read. No speculation or bullcrap. Just gave out facts and events that happened. Must read.

Kindof changed my point of view. BlackBerry 10 isn't our hope, Thor is.

[G-bone]

Thor is doing what needs to be done. Tim Cook has nowhere to go but down;Thor has nowhere to go but up.
Jobs was never going to make a 7 inch tablet -they're making one. Jobs HATED the stylus -they've patented one.
Thor is making sure BBX is as awesome as it should be.
Alec is hard after devs.
Now they need hard-driving, in-your-face, ads with a consistent message that adheres to the public psyche like iconic superglue.
IMHO, they need me.
I worked in broadcasting, wrote commercials, and spend most of my waking moments obsessing over this very issue.
Am I nuts?
Obviously.
Nuts for BlackBerry.
Everybody loves a great comeback.
Pop culture is full of them.
Pro wrestling is based on it.
Let's give it to them!
Let's Rock and Roll This!
BlackBerry : We invented the Smartphone Business.
We're takin' it Back!

[bobauckland]

First very well thought out post....The issue I have with your post is your view of Developers relations.... Being fairly familiar with the Apple and Androd side of development ( brother has developed many Apps for both )

Yes RIM has treated their Developers badly and that does not change overnight.... But conversely in the land of Andoid and Apple.... and dealing with Apple can be like pulling teeth unless you are a huge devloper.....can give you horror stories with developers... So it is not just with RIM....

I would rather see RIM tight fisted with app development rather than the Android model of the wild west....

You're right to an extent, in my opinion.
Apple are very difficult to deal with for devs. Thing is, they can afford to be. They ship the numbers, they have the users, they can afford to of people now that they're on top. From the bottom, RIM can't. It can't treat its devs the same way.
Heck Apple can go through a fiasco like the Siri launch, where it wasn't working all round the world, or the 4G iPad bit where the 4G didn't work around the world, they can both all that and people still love them. RIM can't afford to treat people the same way cos people already hate RIM at the moment. So they have to work harder. Treating people the same, devs or consumers, as Apple does, won't work, cos they don't offer the same product Apple does or get the acclaim for their products that Apple does.

The Android model is a bit of a wild west environment but, the app strategy currently employed by the Developer Relations team at RIM has seen my PlayBook app store go from a few apps with some decent ones, to an app store absolutely clogged with crap. I actually prefer the Android app store. They've targeted the wrong devs, and now have an app store clogged with stuff no one in their right minds would buy.
Again, you can get away with that when you've got the core killer apps all the other platforms do. When you lack all of them, to the extent even Windows Phone offers more core key consumer apps than the PlayBook app store does, then an app store filled with crap and no quality is a major issue.

[MartyMcfly]

Thor is doing what needs to be done. Tim Cook has nowhere to go but down;Thor has nowhere to go but up.

Jobs was never going to make a 7 inch tablet -they're making one. Jobs HATED the stylus -they've patented one.

Thor is making sure BBX is as awesome as it should be.

Alec is hard after devs.

Now they need hard-driving, in-your-face, ads with a consistent message that adheres to the public psyche like iconic superglue.

IMHO, they need me.

I worked in broadcasting, wrote commercials, and spend most of my waking moments obsessing over this very issue.

Am I nuts?

Obviously.

Nuts for BlackBerry.

Everybody loves a great comeback.

Pop culture is full of them.

Pro wrestling is based on it.

Let's give it to them!

Let's Rock and Roll This!

BlackBerry : We invented the Smartphone Business.

We're takin' it Back!

I highly disagree...apple has the cash,talent, luxury of entering new fields. Rimm doesn't. If BB 10 doesn't take off I'm willing to bet my last dollar that rimm will be sold by the end of 2013.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[lotuslanderz]

From becoming CEO in January through to today a very long and thorough look at Thorsten Heins and Blackberry.

'In the next 100 days [from January 22], Heins will have the toughest job in corporate Canada, if not the world. While it may be unfair to analyze the reign of a CEO based on a single fiscal quarter�after all, much of what Heins is shovelling through now is the managerial detritus of the previous administration�it�s also the case that RIM may not have much time.'

Thorsten Heins' no good, very bad first 100 days as RIM's CEO - The Globe and Mail

Well. What do you know, the Globe and Mail has actually changed the title to the article to something more accurate:
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins: 100 days into the toughest job in corporate Canada

[G-bone]

I highly disagree...apple has the cash,talent, luxury of entering new fields. Rimm doesn't. If BB 10 doesn't take off I'm willing to bet my last dollar that rimm will be sold by the end of 2013.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

I get what you're saying but my point is that Apple can't sustain at current levels. Jobs is gone and already his vision is starting to erode.
Android has huge, built in flaws.
The public is easily bored.
The tide can turn, and turn quickly.
Apple was 2 weeks away from total bankruptcy when Jobs took over.
What saved them?
An iconic ad campaign.
We're coming...
Nobody sees us...

[dbollman423]

In the authors defense I do believe that the title is a tribute to a childrens book titled "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.". Alexander (hereinafter "Thorsten") wakes up and knows that he has a tough day ahead and perseveres.

Overall, the article was balanced and factual.

Thorsten does have a difficult row to hoe, but personally I find him to be compelling, believable, quite intelligent and driven. An individual with all of the GRAVITAS of Steve Jobs.

He has a VISION!!!!

IN THORSTEN I TRUST!

[blackberry-unlocking710]

It's always easy to blame one person...

[Blackberry_boffin]

The other day I watched Heins' keynote speech at BB World again.
It was notoriously hard to pick the nuances and innuendos from his speech (he's German after all) but I can confidently say the man seems unflappable, cool yet genial.
I dare say orders (even tough ones) are easier to take from such a man. I think for a steadying hand, RIM are in good hands.
He says all is on course for BB10 and I found myself believing and assured.
I worry about the CMO and COO's contributions between now and BB10 launch.
Two dates are being bandied about on the launch of the first BB10 smartphone, August and October.
October seems really reasonable but say they spring a surprise and unveil it in August
then the CMO and COO have less than 100 days themselves to push a make or break product they have just been introduced to.
The current mantra of BB10 is the BlackBerry Flow, People who Do etc, etc. Are they sold onto that or are they going to want to work on their own ideas on how to market BB10?
Are they going to go by way of well placed 'leaks' or a hush-hush build up leading to one unveil all event?
Either way the knives and claws are out for RIM.

[CrackMachine]

Well. What do you know, the Globe and Mail has actually changed the title to the article to something more accurate:
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins: 100 days into the toughest job in corporate Canada

Nice to see this change. The G&M has had the reputation (mostly deserved) of being overly negative on RIM. Maybe our complaints have made a difference!

[big bb]

BlackBerry : We invented the Smartphone Business.
We're takin' it Back!

I like your quote i think i will use it for my signature