This is far from the first time I have written about this subject, but every time I do my thoughts get more negative. The leaders at RIM have been criticised for not responding quick enough to their reducing market share, profits and reputation. However, even if we rolled back one year, I don't believe they ever had a chance of turning the company around.
The problem is that they was stuck with a platform from the pre-iPhone error. Like Windows Mobile and Palm OS, they have no place in today's smartphone industry. Trying to improve the Blackberry platform is like trying to build a house on a swamp. It will still sink. They have tried and succeeded in only producing small improvements that the general public are not buying. The hardware has stayed largely the same, but the software to this day still cannot support apps that people want to use.
BBX is seen as the final hope for RIM. There is some potential here, just as Microsoft has shown potential in Windows Phone, but timing is everything and I feel that they may be too late. By the time BBX reaches the hands of consumers, Android and iOS will have eaten up even more market share and there is a tipping point that competitors cannot recover from. I fear that Microsoft and Nokia may have similar problems to RIM, but RIM could be in serious financial difficulty by the time that last hope arrives. Even if they manage to make an operating system that people want to use, they need to get developers on board quickly and they need to completely change the hardware they are producing.
That is three things they need to change; the operating system, developer interest and hardware. Can we seriously expect RIM to succeed in all three areas? Sorry, but I would be surprised if they succeed in even one of these areas. I am even sorrier to say that it's over. It really is.
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