On the off-chance that there are any RIM investors reading this story, hoping against hope that the company would try something drastic (like using Android) to reverse its worldwide downward slide… you might want to give your portfolio manager a call. After months of almost universally gloomy news for the Blackberry manufacturer, they installed a new CEO this week, Thorsten Heins. When asked by Crackberry if the company would consider switching to an Android-based software system and abandon their often delayed and underwhelming BlackBerry OS, Heins said ““there is just no room for differentiation because [Android phones] are all the same.”
For a little context: this comes from a company whose first touchscreen product (in 2008, no less) failed so miserably that its sequel abandoned its one unique feature. Whose Nokia-esque line of numbered families get incremental updates that are nigh indistinguishable from one another. Whose first radical change to their core hardware model, the Torch, adopted the portrait slider format that had been in wide use for the better part of a decade. Who can’t give away their sole tablet product (which still lacks a native email client, by the way) despite quasi-support for Android apps.
We usually don’t pay attention to Blackberry here at Android Community – just like the rest of the world as of late. But it seems like a no-brainer for them to dump their overloaded software framework and build on Android to come into this decade. As HTC, Samsung, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others have proven, it’s entirely possible to create your own separate look and feel on Android, while still staying compatible with updates and hundreds of thousands of apps. RIM could easily integrate Blackberry’s legendary business-friendly encryption, email and messaging apps – heck, they’re probably doing the latter already.
Feel free to continue along your current path, RIM – it’s not like you’re trying to compete or anything.
Doesn’t everything RIM makes act and look the same too?
who is RIM?
Stands for RIM-shot; Blackberry is the basket and Android just made nothin’ but net on that shot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_In_Motion
Excellent, but tasteful slam on RIM – I couldn’t agree more with everything that was said! How are you going to say Android phones are all the same when I haven’t seen a single new Blackberry that has ever made me say “whoa, that’s new, I haven’t seen them do that before….”
What is it with these nasty fruits being haters? Oh well, we’re going to keep on living it up with each new revision of Android and loving all the changes made each time!
…they paying this guy a-lot of $ to go down with the ship…all hail the GALAXY S3.
Im a RIM user wishing i could switch to android, although I need the bbm for work with other countries etc…
This news is pretty annoying and disturbing because my dream would be for google to just buy out RIM.
I honestly dont get what RIMs thinking at this point. They are so behind in technology, let alone app support, that it is beyond frustrating.
Perhaps you weren’t aware that this guy was the Chief Operating Officer, Product Engineering, overseeing the BlackBerry smartphone portfolio worldwide. He was at the helm when the iPhone debuted and did NOTHING, for years.
His appointment to CEO was the reason the stock dropped another 8%.
Like I said, Last nail in the coffin.
Basically RIMMING is to tongue another individual’s ahole
RIM should switch to Android and they will be different than the others – they have BBM
Thorsten Heins = Last Nail in the Coffin
utkanos, “RIM CEO says all android are the same” ohrly?
what’s he getting flak for?
Last I checked, blackberries haven’t changed since I first saw one.
you obviously haven’t seen bbos10
haha
SoulShadow, neither has anyone else. 🙂
I’m posting those remarks in the comments on android community.
If I could ditch my company iPhone and buy with my own money a Blackberry Bold hardware with a high res screen and ICS, I would be all over that in a heartbeat! Wonder if RIM is hearing that kind of suggestion anywhere else…
BlackBerry (RIM) just keeps making one bad decision after another. No e-mail on PlayBook unless you have a BlackBerry…really? I remember not too long ago when I loved my BlackBerry and BB was king. All they had to do was make a faster browser and touch screens sooner and I believe they wouldn’t be in the situation they are now. Maybe one CEO can make better decisions than two…LOL.
I recently switched from BB to Android and as a Canadian, I actually felt guilty. But, they just aren’t innovating enough, nay, at all. I don’t see how RIM’s CEO can call the kettle black when various versions of the Android OS are offered on so many different handsets that the user experience would just naturally be different.
I’ve been anticipating a RIM buyout for a couple of years now. The obvious suitors are Microsoft, Google, Samsung, and heck, with the amount of cash they have on-hand, even Apple! To a lesser extent, companies like IBM and Cisco make sense as well. But it says a lot when companies have taken a look ‘under the hood’ on RIM and they don’t like what they see. I hope they make the hard choices this year and do what they need to do in order to remain relevant. Otherwise, it will be very sad to see them fail.
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Don’t blame CEO, they want RIM win.
RIM has strange culture and self distruct political environment.
In RIM if a new hired person figure out major problem and introduce efficient approach, both manager and his buddy group member will proof their wrong approach works. just like someone point out driving a car is right way, pushing a car is wrong way, then both manager and his buddy group member will hate you, and proof that 3 person can also move the car by pushing it. cheating email will be sent to some vice president, saying like: see, the car moving, pushing a car is a natural part of the process, in order to deny new hired contribution of introducing skill of drive a car, they have to deny merit of driving a car.
It is very strange company culture and strange company political environment, it promote stealing and cheating skill. RIM’s management may be a typical instance in MBA course.
This culture deny or steal hardworking team members’ contribution/innovation, generate strange political environment, destroy RIM.
So don’t blame CEO, some of their VPs and VPs’ expert generate terrible culture and self destruct political environment.
I’m waiting RIM’s playbook III, stylus equipped, BBmessenger, 2.4Ghz quadcore, oh and a Jellybean OS…
sent them to Indonesia… claim your throne in no days…
Recede Into Minority(RIM) better start putting their head where their mouth is
Well apparently, the UMX MXC-570 also looks like every other Crackberry! I should know too, because I used to use one.