Iโm the only diehard in my office who is still sporting a Blackberry. Iโm holding out to see the Blackberry 10.ย
Going into 2011, everyone at my companyย used Blackberrys. We were huge fans. We BBMโd each other constantly. We even blogged about how much we loved our Blackberrys.ย Then RIM started to nosedive and one by one, my staff started showing up at the office with iPhones.
ย
Bring the RIM magic back home
ย
One of my IT recruiters posted a blog in November 2011 called The Blackberry Battle: Bring the Magic Back Home. She pitched nine ways RIM could make us proud of our Blackberrys again.
A year later, Michelle has replaced her Blackberry with an iPhone, while public support for the Blackberry has dipped so low that itโs absurd to even think that a marketing solution could spur a comeback.
ย
In spite of its challenges, I still believe that RIM will make a comeback. Itโs not just wishful thinking. With a solid cash flow, a growing user base and a dedicated army of developers,ย RIM is not another Nortel.ย
ย
Wouldnโt it be incredible if the BB10 was as awesome as RIM says itโs going to be? Wouldnโt it be amazing if RIM did bring the magic back home and started hiring back the thousands of people they laid off?
ย
If you are rooting for RIM to rise back to the top, bear with me while I tell you why this is all possible.
10 reasons RIM is poised for a comeback
1) Developers believe in BB10. RIM has a knack for motivating some of the most brilliant minds on the planet. I personally know several developers who are still working for RIM and who are not the least bit interested in jumping ship. These insiders have job offers. But they are excited to be there for the release of BB10. Check out theย Developers have 1000 Reasons to Believe in BB10 video from Blackberry Jam in San Jose.
ย
2) Teenagers and messaging. Itโs still the best messaging device bar none (this is why teenagers still carry Blackberrysโa pretty important demographic).
3) RIM has always had the best keyboard. My bet is that the genius engineers at RIM are going to have the best touchscreen keyboard on the market.
4) They smell the coffee.Thorsten Heins has woken up RIM from their dreams of past glory. Now they are facing reality and Heins promises big changes.
5) Licensing. The BB10 operating system is being licensed for other hardware like Microsoft Windows Phone 8.
ย
6) Cash flow + growing existing user base. They still have $2 billion in cash and a user base of 80 million that grew by 2 million last quarter.
7) They dominate the high-security niche market. RIM is famous for the security of its smartphones. Thatโs one reason they dominated the corporate market before BYOD hit the fan. Itโs still the go-to device for most governments around the world.
ย
8) Leaked specs. According to leaked BB10 specs reported by the Droid Guy, โRIM would be releasing smartphones that would pose a threat to Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X and even iPhone 5. If the recent leaks were legit, RIM might be back with a vengeance. BlackBerry 10 A-Series may also be the Canadian companyโs key to reclaiming its position in the market where it has dominated before.โย
9) Incremental Improvements are boring. The last iPhone had only incremental improvements. The top two smartphones look more and more alike with every new release. If BB10 can offer us something new that we always wanted but never thought was possible, weโll buy it.
10) The competition is distracted. Samsung and Apple are embroiled in legal battles that wonโt end any time soon. Now Apple is going to battle with Google. This is going to be very distracting for them while their competitors RIM, Microsoft and Noikia come back to fight another day.
Comeback of the Century
ย
Iโll say it again. RIM is NOT another Nortel.ย Iโm excited to watch RIM pull off the biggest comeback of the century. It happens. Just look at Fordโs recent recovery, against all odds.ย
Your Thoughts?
ย
ย โ Do you think RIM will survive this downturn?
โ If BB10 is well-received by media and consumers, could RIM find itself on the shopping lists of Microsoft, Facebook or Samsung?
โ If BB10 is well-received by media and consumers, could RIM find itself on the shopping lists of Microsoft, Facebook or Samsung?
โ Can BB10 become the Windows of smartphones operating systems?
Long story shortโฆ
I still have hope for RIM, but we need to be blown away by BB10.
ย
ย
RELATED CONTENT
ย
Related Download
Sponsor: IBM
Flash Array Deployment for Dummies
Organizations are realizing how their IT performs will directly affect how well their business performs. Solid state storage made from NAND flash memory chips has evolved in terms of cost, performance, and reliability to the point where many organizations are seriously considering its use to replace inefficient, unacceptably slow mechanical spinning disk systems.
Register Now