It seems like an eternity since RIM released a new and exciting smart phone for all those who love their products. The last really big release was the Blackberry PlayBook and it came with the associated problems of a device released before it had everything lined up and working. Since that time, we have been waiting to see a smart phone from RIM which can compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung in the market place. But that has not been forthcoming from them and we continue to wait. The wait for the arrival of the Blackberry 10 OS continues as well. And now the US Government is getting phones from Apple.
It is really starting to look like it may be too late for RIM to recover from the continuing slide downward in sales. It is going to be next year before we see the new line of phones from them. We have been seeing leaked pictures for over a year, but those only go so far before you actually have to deliver something. And time looks like it is beginning to run out for them.
In a public release, the Immigration & Customs Enforcement known as ICE has chosen the Apple iPhone to equip their personnel with. The primary reason given for not choosing the Blackberry is that the technology being used by the Blackberry phones of today does not match up with the mobile technology needs of the agency. And this action may well be the start of other decisions by US agencies to select either the iPhone or Android devices. RIM has just not kept up.
Their next generation phones will more than likely meet the needs, but they are not available and it is at least 3 months before they will be. And that is at the earliest because RIM continues to push out the arrival dates for their new generation of phones. They can no longer afford to do that with continuing slipping sales where they have an extremely low share of the market.
A few months back, we talked about RIM fighting a losing battle in their efforts to become relevant again. At that time, it was expected we would see the new Blackberry 10 OS and smart phones before the end of the year. That is obviously not going to happen and they need to figure out how to turn things around this year. For next year, they are going to be that much further behind. Too many things are happening to push them to the side.
Microsoft is working hard to have their Mobile OS be the one that businesses use. This is mainly because of the integration between the Mobile OS and networks. In the growing area of security, Microsoft is going to make it very tough for RIM to compete. RIM must come out with their new phones and OS in January or it will be too late for them to recover. The competition continues to grow along with ever improving technology advances.
RIM seems to be moving very slowly towards their next phones. But in the world of mobile technology, you have to reinvent things every 6 months to stay current. Just look at what Samsung has done in a few years with their Galaxy phones. They are now competing directly with Apple which is where RIM should be.
The door is closing on RIM and their Blackberry line of phones. They look like they have missed several opportunities to get back into the game, but now they are being left behind.
Do you think they will still exist in 2013?
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