They said what? Great quotes from Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis
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We start in 2003. "Cameraphones will be rejected by corporate users." – Mike Lazaridis, 2003. While some handsets, mostly BlackBerry models, do offer a 'no camera' option, that is more for the security of a business. There is no indication whatsoever that businessmen have rejected cameras on phones.
After the Apple iPhone was introduced at WWDC in 2007 by Steve Jobs, the long nearly 6 month wait for the device gave the media plenty of time to get reactions from BlackBerry executives like Jim Balsillie. "[Apple and the iPhone is] kind of one more entrant into an already very busy space with lots of choice for consumers … But in terms of a sort of a sea-change for BlackBerry, I would think that's overstating it."– Jim Balsillie, February 2007.
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RIM's answer to the Apple iPhone, the BlackBerry Storm |
Because BlackBerry handsets had always had a very usable physical QWERTY keyboard, RIM executives were quite sensitive to the fact that the Apple iPhone did not offer one. "As nice as the Apple iPhone is, it poses a real challenge to its users. Try typing a web key on a touchscreen on an Apple iPhone, that's a real challenge. You cannot see what you type." – Jim Balsillie, November 2007. "The most exciting mobile trend is full Qwerty keyboards. I'm sorry, it really is. I'm not making this up."-Mike Lazaridis, May 2008. Six months after the latter comment, in response to the Apple iPhone, RIM would release the BlackBerry Storm with its SurePress typing system that was supposed to feel like you were typing on a physical keyboard. The phone launched with half-baked software leading Jim Balsillie to say that smartphone buyers should expect future models to launch with bugs and glitches. While RIM said SurePress was here to stay, as you know, it wasn't.
When it appeared as though a market was developing for tablets, you would have thought that Lazaridis and Balsillie would have learned their lesson from the iPhone. "So the question you have to ask yourself is when it comes to tablet, what market or what opportunities, still, it's solving, what problem is it solving, and is it just a replacement laptop? I think that's a difficult one to judge." Mike Lazaridis, April 2010. Six months later, RIM announced the BlackBerry PlayBook which was launched with no calendar and, incredibly enough for a company that prides itself on its messaging technology, no email client either.
RIM had also been characteristically late to the apps game. And if you want to know why, just read this comment. "There may be 300,000 apps for the iPhone and iPad, but the only app you really need is the browser. You don't need an app for the web ... You don't need to go through some kind of SDK ... You can use your web tools ... And you can publish your apps to the BlackBerry without writing any native code."-Jim Balsillie, November 2010.
In April 2011, Jim Balsillie actually predicted the demise of RIM, in a roundabout way. His comment about companies switching platforms getting ready to die would now apply to...RIM. "No other technology company other than Apple has successfully transitioned their platform. It's almost never done, and it's way harder than you realize. This transition is where tech companies go to die."-Jim Balsillie, April 2011.
BlackBerry 10 is delayed, RIM is awash in red ink and the board is considering a couple of tough options. Going back through these quotes, can anyone really be surprised?
source: TheGuardian
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RIM's stock price for the last 5 years |
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10 Comments
4. Droid_X_Doug posted on 3 0
The quote about transitioning their platform was quite on point. Balsillie made a proposal to RIM's Board to reorganize RIM around its services (cross platform e-mail and BBM) and jettison the handset business, but RIM was still drinking the handset Kool-Aid. Now, I doubt that proposal could even fly.
In the end, arrogance brought RIM down.
5. jmoita2 posted on 1 0
They just announced the Blackberry 10 will be delayed until 2013. It is the end, then. By then there will be no RIM to release anything...
6. disneydad posted on 1 0
This vividly highlights how difficult it can be for companies to figure out a market. While it may seem obvious on a macro level or in hindsight, it can be very difficult to call when you're in the battlefield.
Interestingly, I remember talking to a BB rep. who came to my kiosk to hype their products and he was very matter of fact about what RIM needed to do. Unfortunately, they were too concerned with their enterprise side because of the recurring cash flow that brought them and it made the consumer side seem irrelevant.
7. steelicon posted on 2 1
Intel (processors), Microsoft (apps), RIM (messaging), Nokia (camera, I/O and Qt) and Sony Mobile (online multimedia content and hardware) should team up to release a bitchin' phone to compete with Android and iOS. Even for just one collaboration effort. And make it MeeGo/Tizen/Linux based.
9. ardent1 posted on 0 1
The reason why the iPhone succeeded was mainly due to the genius of Steve Jobs. He has always believed in the need to create both the software and hardware as an integrated product because the consumer doesn't want to be the syatems integrator.
Apple had an unfair advantage because they can write great software.
8. usamasheriff posted on 1 0
is this canadian arrogance or plain stupidity like they did when they sent troops to vietnam for no reason !! welll i have been a blackberry hater save for its email client from a long time ! god knows why their qwerty keys are appreciated when the phone build quality sucks hardcore and battery has been pathetic ! it was shoved down americans throat till now again .. the email was the selling point !! good to know that a third class product company is going down and hopefully their patent pack would be taken over by nokia .. ever since the bb connect in a communicator .. it has been my dream to see bbm and mail in nokia built qwerty phone !! since nokias mail client is as good as samsungs build quality ;) and on the other note ,.... one more third class company .. making waves may go bite the dust ! i.e. samsung !
10. downphoenix posted on 0 0
I dont disagree with the apps statement, the browser is a very powerful app with html 5 and Flash, and 98% of the apps we download are easily doable in either/or, but for some reason App developers like to get on the cool kids train of developing apps for specific platforms that dont offer any added functionality over building it in a platform-agnostic sense that using the web allows. For instance, facebook and twitter have no loss of functionality with their mobile sites versus apps. Some apps even tend to be WORSE than the mobile website, like Amazon.
