Originally Posted by
NYC10065 Sadly, that is basically it.
BBRY was the top dog before iPhone came around and became lazy, fat and complacent. BBRY basically felt that it could simply stand by and its Crackberry would maintain the addiction of users and continue to either retain its top spot or retain enough marketshare to command a price premium thus ensuring its profitability. For a while, that seemed to be the case.
The first generation iPhone was not great and while it had the makings of a stiff competitor, BBRY and their loyalists made fun of it and rightfully so. Because of that, a certain sense of invincibility set in and BBRY literally felt it could do no wrong. Fanboys kept cheering, the arrogance kept growing and it seemed like the music could never and would never end. Well, Apple made investments and improvements and, more importantly, learned a thing or two about marketing and sales. Before the brain trust in Waterloo could figure it out, marketshare was plummeting and panic and denial set in.
Fast forward to BB10 and again, BBRY may have built the bestest OS ever but the launch was botched, the first generation of BB10 was a complete joke and the executive and fanboy response was replete with denial, arrogance and a deafness to any feedback or criticism that didn't fit with the "BB10 is the super greatest ever OS ever made ever" that was repeated ad nauseum both by BBRY execs and their fanboys.
Then reality, poor sales and the truth all catch up to Heins and he and his team are shown the door. A new messiah is found in Chen...what is the missing piece throughout? MARKETING!!!
The buffoonery continues. Chen continues the blah, blah, blah but, unlike Heins, he actually is desperate for media attention and seeks it out. His flip floppery on the strategic direction which BBRY will be taking under his leadership is embarrassing and in a complete fit of ignorance and nostalgia, he seems to be saying that BBRY's future is in the past. His proudest achievement so far? Overruling his utterly incompetent marketing team and foisting the "Classic" brand on them.
A truly brutal situation for what was once one the world's greatest tech companies and innovators.