Originally Posted by
Kendom I am a new poster on this forum but a frequent lurker.
I have a Blackberry Playbook 32g and a Torch. I live out of the US and I am no fanboy.
It has become pretty obvious to me that lately, technology reviews and debate on the internet and technology space has entered a fever pitch of parochialism.
That Apple has a fine product library is obvious. Apple also is one of the biggest price gouging companies in the history of price gouging. They use a strategy which is almost Machiavellian in its execution. They have produced a brand with tremendous brand equity which people pay a premium to be associated with. Yet they produce their products for veritable peanuts in the same Chinese factories so many people like to denigrate.
Like Nokia before them, and like Samsung (whose every mistake is amplified) Rim is not an American company. Those of you who are wondering whats the relevance dont understand the fanboy nature of most of the technology media. Engadget, BGR, Gizmodo etc etc dominate the websphere in terms of pushing perception across. And therefore perception has become reality. The serious technology writers for the market publications, the Forbes, WSJ, NYT, UK Guardian et al are little different. They exist within a sphere of influence. Kudos to Apple for having found that weakness.
The other reality is that the Playbook is the most functionally sound tablet out there, (I have had the Ipad 2 and the Galaxy) with some gaps which left it compromised and open to a savage reception by a protectionist American technology media and capital markets.
Even with phones, RIM is being attacked in the US, but outside of the US, RIM DOMINATES. WHy ? The iphone is not practical, as pretty and as trendy as it is, because of its fragility and of course its COST. In the US, with a higher GDP and an aggressive brand profile, Apple is King. It is THE American technology company heading off RIm, Nokia, Samsung and the other foreign hordes.
But...."Americans dont care about these things", you say. Of course they dont. Americans are the fairest consumers on planet earth. They are also the most fragile consumers on earth, at the behest of the media telling them that they have to get an Ipad 2 and an Ipad 3 because it has LOADS of apps. And they are now being bombarded with "Rim is dead and dying" commentary.
The truth is, there is a place for everyone in the market. But as you have seen, Apple is not about co-existing. Not in the film business (where they are king of product placement and are aided by a Hollywood who appreciates Apples generosity), not in the product blog reviews, where the tech writers are feted and adorned with apple products. And certainly not by the market traders who continue to pump the Apple stock.
The point is, the Playbook is a great device, and RIM have made some serious strategic and marketing mistakes, but none of that has harmed its international business. In the US, those mistakes have been fatal.
I just wanted to point out that despite what is said out there, the Playbook is a fantastic device. Continue to pressure RIM to improve it, continue to show it to your friends and family, and continue to pressure companies to support it.