[BBThemes]

Because the US is where the money is mate!

wow! your right! we must be poor here. plus all these emerging markets with populations of billions wouldnt be worth considering then?

Your argument is that RIM hasn't fallen because its the biggest smartphone vendor in the UK? Wow. I think you'd fit in really well over at RIM with the way you're able to keep your head buried in the sand.

no, everyones biggest arguement is `here in the USA we want faster phones and soon everyone else will too` but wait, RIM is about to release the 9900, 9850 and 9810 all with 1.2Ghz processors, so `if` the rest of the world did suddenly decide to share that mentality then RIM would just go `look at these new products` which renders that arguement moot

[T�nis]

You can be the biggest fan boy of RIM but you have to admit that average consumer doesn't give a isht about security or battery life or push email.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I don't give a sh*t about the average consumer. S/he irritates me, because s/he's generally stupid.

[BBThemes]

The UK didn't stop their stock from going from a little over 140 in 2008 to under 30 today.

if your trying to tell me stock prices reflect how a company is doing, please explain how news corp`s stock is up, even with all the UK scandal, a US senate hearing, dropping a BskyB bid (costing them $34 billion) and also an australian investigation.

[Dapper37]

Old news getting rehashed once again, until RIM releases the new phones we have to suffer the pile on. If someone ever has something new to say, that will be interesting.

[ADGrant]

why do people feel the rest of the world will follow the USA? heck you do know the most important company in smartphone manufacturing is from the UK right?

You are presumably referring to Acorn Risc Machines.

The fact is the rest of the world often does follow the USA and the UK often follows the USA more than the rest of the world (except for Canada of course).

[Dapper37]

The very fact that the desire is so fierce to kill RIM off is a clear statement of how powerful the products are. You dont see people with knifes out for DELL, why? old news.

[ADGrant]

I don't see a desire to kill off RIM, more a fascination with where they went wrong.

[T�nis]

... Time to move onto bigger game BGR, start getting some scoops on the "real" players in the consumer market now.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I don't go to that blog, but perhaps someone who does can will fill me in. Does that authority report all the dirt on the other platforms with such regularity and intensity, too? Or are the other platforms problem-free? I also wonder whether the people who have gone to Android and iPhone and are now posting here telling us how bad BlackBerry is are also posting with such intensity about the problems with their Android and iPhones on other sites, or do they think those platforms are problem-free?

[jd914]

You are presumably referring to Acorn Risc Machines.

The fact is the rest of the world often does follow the USA and the UK often follows the USA more than the rest of the world (except for Canada of course).

Well said! If a sales model works or fails in the US that's a good indication how it's going to do word wide. Basically, if you can make it in the US you can make it anywhere worldwide, many companies including RIM know this.

[T�nis]

The very fact that the desire is so fierce to kill RIM off is a clear statement of how powerful the products are. You dont see people with knifes out for DELL, why? old news.

I can think of a plenty of greedlings and megalomaniacs who would like to see RIM killed off. Carriers, for one, would love to see more inefficient use of data for which they can charge more and to not split data fees with RIM, and governments would like everyone (except themselves) to be on less secure platforms.

[Rooster99]

... The story I would really love to hear, however, is Mike's reaction to the Blackberry Storm. If he gets heated over MP3 players and cameras, I can't even imagine his reaction when he started using that device.

If he even used it. I'd bet he didn't :

1) Based on that story, my guess is he would have dismissed a touch device as a toy because it impeded productivity

2) I can't believe he would have allowed it to continue to be sold if he really knew what it was like and thought it was aimed at his beloved business users

Having said that, as a former S1/S2 owner I too would love to find out his reaction.

Slightly off topic, but I actually sent a letter directly to both Mike and Jim complaining about how bad the S1 was. Took them 3+ weeks to reply, and then it was a clerical person checking to see if the carrier (Telus) had responded. They had, as I'd also sent a letter to the Telus CEO. Telus replaced the S1 with an S2 so the pain became bearable, on occasion.

- R.

[allengeorge]

I thought it was a compelling article that felt true. And frankly, it lines up with public comments from both Mike L. and Jim Balsille, as well as (if you've been following BB news for a long time) events that have taken place.

This article solidifies my feeling that a radical leadership change is necessary, and that one, or both of the co-CEOs have to go. I'm disappointed that only 10% of the shareholders voted against keeping them on the board. A higher percentage would have sent a much stronger message.

As things stand I have little hope for the company. They have many strong pieces, but with such a damaged internal culture they will be unable to execute.

[sleepngbear]

I don't much care for BGR's negative sensationalizing and headline-grabbing style. I won't go as far as to say that they fabricate, or even exaggerate negative news when it comes to RIM, but they certainly do focus on it much to the exclusion of anything positive. That being said, there's obviously some substance to a lot of what's in this article.

While I'm very satisfied with my BlackBerry's, I find particularly troubling the arrogance and inability or unwillingness to understand, let alone react to, the changing smartphone landscape, both from a consumer's perspective and that of the enterprise and government. I'm one of those customers that does place a lot of importance on such things as battery life and data/network efficiency, but I'm not dumb enough to think that's all that's important. I.e., I still like how BlackBerry's do what they do and I have no desire to switch to another brand (though I'm seriously considering switching carriers) for something somebody else says is better. Nonetheless, I'm really hoping that most of that mentality is in the past and, as overdue as they are, that these latest offerings will demonstrate a new 'competitive awareness'. Otherwise, well, this board is already full of the otherwise predictions.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[T�nis]

... I'm disappointed that only 10% of the shareholders voted against keeping them on the board. A higher percentage would have sent a much stronger message ...

Perhaps the message is that things aren't nearly as bad as this blogger and other analyst-bloggers would have everyone believe?

[brucep1]

Perhaps the message is that things aren't nearly as bad as this blogger and other analyst-bloggers would have everyone believe?

I think it goes more like this...

The CCEO's built blackberry from the ground up. They turned it into a technological giant. Any change in roles would be taken personally by them.

Look at Apple right now, since everyone seems to compare the two companies. Imagine in 10 years if Steve Jobs starts lacking great leadership. Do you know how hard it would be to vote him out of the CEO role?

It's not so easy to push around the people that brought you where you are as a company.

[LikeWebOS]

I think it goes more like this...

The CCEO's built blackberry from the ground up. They turned it into a technological giant. Any change in roles would be taken personally by them.

Look at Apple right now, since everyone seems to compare the two companies. Imagine in 10 years if Steve Jobs starts lacking great leadership. Do you know how hard it would be to vote him out of the CEO role?

It's not so easy to push around the people that brought you where you are as a company.

Haha yea they did that once already, and I believe it was because they didn't like the way he was doing things. Company was going DOWN when they got rid of him, then they brought him back and he pretty much saved the company. But yes it would be very hard to do THAT again.

[JohnnyTheCanuck]

At the end of the day if this was an article about GM or Volkswagen/Audi group or some other industry you'd have "fan sites" like this slamming the author/publisher.

BGR posted an accurate (as far as we can tell) account about how BB's were synonymous with the term "Smartphone" and now it lags behind all 3 other major platofrms as far as tech savvy and end user experience and it has lost it's market dominant position.

There's no axe grinding going on here, sure the headline might sell you something other than what was delivered, but then aren't we all BB users here? Why should we be surprised?

If you take the Rim-Tinted glasses off and look about what they're talking about here they're right. Henry Ford would probably roll in his grave if he saw just 1% of the vehicle designs that have attempted to imrpove on his "invention" and it happens in every industry and sector where R&D improves an invention or a tool that makes one aspect of human life/existance/communications etc better.

Mike has seen his invention spawn into something more than even he could have seen: Gaming, Video Streaming, MP3, etc... he intended his invention to be a form of Pocket PC that operated cellularly... now its been improved by RIM and other manufacturers.

something has got to give or RIM will be a shadow of the former shadow of their former self.

Just my humble observations

[brucep1]

Haha yea they did that once already, and I believe it was because they didn't like the way he was doing things. Company was going DOWN when they got rid of him, then they brought him back and he pretty much saved the company. But yes it would be very hard to do THAT again.

I'm talking recent success..I know he was out already but Apple wasn't having nearly the success they are now.

[Dapper37]

I don't see a desire to kill off RIM, more a fascination with where they went wrong.

Ok we all get to play with words, cause its fun, RIM I believe is the most profitable company in Canada and in the top ten or even five of the fortune 500. where did they go so wrong? Yes they have to act fast to keep things going, that takes time. too much for you I suspect. Sometimes you might want to check your own perspective

[T�nis]

And, yes, most articles about Apple and Android/Google have been positive. As they should be.

Was there intense negativity on that blog about Android security breaches and iPhone dropped calls when that was going down? Were there plenty of warnings to consumers about the security breaches followed by calls for Android's demise? I mean if that blogger used his journalism skills to make consumers understand Android's security vulnerabilities, maybe Android wouldn't be doing so well ...

[jd914]

Was there intense negativity on that blog about Android security breaches and iPhone dropped calls when that was going down? Were there plenty of warnings to consumers about the security breaches followed by calls for Android's demise? I mean if that blogger used his journalism skills to make consumers understand Android's security vulnerabilities, maybe Android wouldn't be doing so well ...

That's not news every platform and carrier experiences security issues and dropped calls.

A once mighty giant like RIM struggling to keep its head above water and stay relevant in the smartphone world is worth reporting and headline news.

[allengeorge]

Perhaps the message is that things aren't nearly as bad as this blogger and other analyst-bloggers would have everyone believe?

It's because there isn't blood in the water yet. I suspect a lot of the major shareholders are taking a "wait-and-see" attitude because both co-CEOs built the company and have stated that they are at the end of a major transition. If that transition doesn't work out (and I don't think it will) attitudes will change fast.

To clarify, I continue to think things won't change because of what I heard at the AGM yesterday. When asked questions - even the softball ones - both co-CEOs vacillated. In addition, I sensed a lot of defensiveness in how questions were answered. And I didn't hear anything about RIM addressing its weaknesses in content distribution, building out an ecosystem, etc. Instead, a lot about how Adobe's content suite will help the PlayBook (its effects are overrated, IMO) etc.

And finally, I got a sense of RIM's strategy for developing markets (as delivered by Mike L.). It's deja-vu. Take RIM's North American "incremental update" strategy for the last 3 years and move it to <name emerging market here>. There appears to be a strong belief that emerging markets will follow the same path as developed countries from no phone -> dumb-phone -> feature-phone -> smartphone. Instead, what I think is going to happen is that people will jump from no-phone/entry-level feature phone (i.e. a Curve w/ no apps) directly to a smartphone (probably a cheap Android slab). Heck, if I had a say I'd push hard for an entry-level single-core all-touch BB based on QNX/BB.

[lnichols]

That's not news every platform and carrier experiences security issues and dropped calls.

A once mighty giant like RIM struggling to keep its head above water and stay relevant in the smartphone world is worth reporting and headline news.

Wow if a company making $700 Million a quarter and $3 Billion in the bank is struggling to keep its head above water, then Motorola must be in cement shoes at the bottom of the pond since they are losing money every quarter, even with their $3 Billion in the bank.

On a side note it was a pleasantly quieter past month.

[vrs626]

Was there intense negativity on that blog about Android security breaches and iPhone dropped calls when that was going down? Were there plenty of warnings to consumers about the security breaches followed by calls for Android's demise? I mean if that blogger used his journalism skills to make consumers understand Android's security vulnerabilities, maybe Android wouldn't be doing so well ...

Most consumers don't give a crap about security vulnerabilities.

[Coffee Addict]

Quite gloomy time for RIM. My main concern is that, if the top leadership of the is so far from reality(consumer choice) then RIM is always going to play catch up, with or without QNX.

Well written article.