Research in Motion, or simply RIM, is still struggling to get back up after being thrown away by the era. The company that created the BlackBerry, previously known as the smartest phone out there, was outsmarted by Apple’s iPhone. It later on suffered damages from Android’s rise to fame, and now, RIM is down to 7% market share in the 2nd quarter of this year. This number has dwindled even further since 2011.
It almost expected that RIM’s BlackBerry line will disappear into obscurity. Even the loyal fans have given up, as they are moving on to the more feature packed smartphones of today. In fact, the only reason RIM and their BlackBerry line is even included in any analysis is just so that it can be compared to what was previously great. In the end, it makes the BlackBerry seem even less attractive as people encounter the numbers.
The main problem of the BlackBerry was its entire OS. While it is still the most secure around, it is completely outdated. The Blackberry OS has been stagnant for so many years, that they did not know what to do when Apple launched the iOS.
In an effort to get into the growing tablet space that was introduced by the iPad, Blackberry launched the Playbook. It was a cheaper tablet that runs on a Playbook OS. It was a play at making an OS, then using a different OS’s ecosystem to sustain itself. The Playbook ability to run Android Apps was just too obvious a hint that they really have no idea what to do to make an OS worthy of the era.
Now, it is reported that they will try yet again to hit the tablet market, and this time, with a larger Playbook. While the 7-inch version remains stagnant, RIM decides to enter the tablet market again with 10-inches and a completely different screen aspect ratio. It can be speculated that it will sport a different OS, possibly the long delayed BBX, or BlackBerry OS 10.
According to the reports of the leak, the internals of the new Playbook look strikingly similar to the first one. One can’t help but wonder if the large screen size was all that was updated in terms of hardware. I certainly hope not if this ever sees the light of day. Just think about all the unsatisfied customers.
At the very least, something to look forward to is that it RIM may be planning to add 4G support to the new 10-inch as well as for the refresh of the 7-inch Playbook. Hopefully, RIM will be able to get back on their feet.
So RIM is launching a new Playbook that no one is excited about and an OS that keeps getting delays. Seems like a struggle to me. RIM is certainly refusing to hang up their gloves. They still want to try making their own OS, while still maintaining Android connectivity. Why don’t they just downright us Android, right?
If the mass lay-off was not an indication of dark times, then I don’t know what is. Maybe it is time RIM left the smartphone scene for good. At their current state, it is highly unlikely that they will be missed.
Will you consider getting the new Playbook or do you think it’s time to hang up the gloves?
Image sources: slashgear.com, cio.com
