Playbook exec leaves RIM for Samsung

[dpodblood]

I have no idea what RIM was thinking releasing the Playbook without an email client. That's an unforgivable oversight in my book. Right now the only thing Blackberry phones seem to have over the competition is their physical keyboards and their battery life.

 

[yllus]

It's really not worth discussing the current generation of BlackBerry handsets - they're history and everyone knows it. All that matters are how the QNX OS is evolving, starting with the PlayBook.

 

[3chordcharlie]

nope, nothing wrong with his.
my S2 with the latest VZ approved firmware also takes 5 minutes.

That is the second worst thing they've ever made, after S1, which I briefly had (and didn't put on my list of reliable BBs). Although other than the brutal screen, useless browser, spotty reception, slow application loading, long boot time, and piss-poor battery life, it was pretty good

 

[prism]

US military really has a choice between 'Android' and 'Build it ourselves from the ground up for $6 billion'.

Apple isn't going to share, and isn't particularly security-minded, and RIM, which is extremely security-minded, makes reliable devices that work well on poor connections, etc, is a foreign company. Not likely to happen.

You're completely right, because the Toughbooks that the military uses are from Panasonic, which totally isn't a foreign company. The U.S. has also had incredibly tense relations with RIM's home country of Canada.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Well played, sir!

 

[Alone]

The Playbook will do well long term. I wish it had been more decisive short term, but I can't have my way. Anyone who has been paying any attention to the works of RIM or the development of the Playbook can see it won't be going away any time soon.

 

[lothar]

Why the heck do they have 2 co-CEO's and 2 co-chairmen?
When a company has 2 CEO's and 2 chairmen serving at once, that hints to me that the company lacks direction.
Why can't one of them just be both the CEO and chairman? Hell, you can make one of them the CEO and the other the chairman also.

 

[3chordcharlie]

You're completely right, because the Toughbooks that the military uses are from Panasonic, which totally isn't a foreign company. The U.S. has also had incredibly tense relations with RIM's home country of Canada.

Who makes the software running on those Toughbooks?

I would expect the US military to want domestic suppliers, or homegrown solutions.

There are also a number of logistical reasons that they might not want RIM servers having anything to do with their operations.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Who makes the software running on those Toughbooks?

I would expect the US military to want domestic suppliers, or homegrown solutions.

There are also a number of logistical reasons that they might not want RIM servers having anything to do with their operations.

LOL, if the Commander in Chief can use a BlackBerry you can be sure the cannon fodder can, too.

 

[3chordcharlie]

LOL, if the Commander in Chief can use a BlackBerry you can be sure the cannon fodder can, too.

I seem to remember a mild controversy about that And there was no multi-million or higher contract involved.

I'm not suggesting the US military would never use a foreign supplier of anything, but telecom seems like something they would want total control over.

RIM gives a great security record, but it wouldn't be fully controlled by the military, either.

I don't see BB + US military as being a good fit at all; and I don't remember stating otherwise.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I seem to remember a mild controversy about that And there was no multi-million or higher contract involved.

I'm not suggesting the US military would never use a foreign supplier of anything, but telecom seems like something they would want total control over.

RIM gives a great security record, but it wouldn't be fully controlled by the military, either.

I don't see BB + US military as being a good fit at all; and I don't remember stating otherwise.

There is no requirement for anyone to use any RIM infrastructure with the PlayBook. It's a non issue, especially as the Military will develop their own applications for it anyhow. What matters is device security. Lose a gov iPad and your enemy jailbreaks it to steal info. Lose an Android pad and it's rooted by the enemy to steal info.

 

[3chordcharlie]

There is no requirement for anyone to use any RIM infrastructure with the PlayBook. It's a non issue, especially as the Military will develop their own applications for it anyhow. What matters is device security. Lose a gov iPad and your enemy jailbreaks it to steal info. Lose an Android pad and it's rooted by the enemy to steal info.

But there *is* that requirement for the phones.

 

[DivideBYZero]

But there *is* that requirement for the phones.

Nope. Any BB can use direct TCP.

 

[mammador]

RIM is not dead, but if I were it's CEO, I would do the following:

- better marketing. RIM is failing since its phones are poor relative to other companies' handsets. Have an ear in on the ground and figure out what people want, don't just produce a physical QWERTY and BBM and expect everything to be fine.

- Get even the lowest of employees to pitch in with ideas on how to improve. This is how HTC is a major smartphone player now (perhaps the best maker behind Apple, who knows?).

Plenty of people talk of RIM's demise, but they need some serious change to compete again. It's basically arrogance and pigheadedness that is the reason for the slump.

 

[mammador]

Why the heck do they have 2 co-CEO's and 2 co-chairmen?
When a company has 2 CEO's and 2 chairmen serving at once, that hints to me that the company lacks direction.
Why can't one of them just be both the CEO and chairman? Hell, you can make one of them the CEO and the other the chairman also.

I'd say it's confusing. If I were a RIM employee, I'd be wondering if both CEOs ever agreed on a given corporate strategy.

 

[Pliablemoose]

All the old school smartphone manufacturers have gone tits up or had to reinvent themselves.

Nokia
RIM
MS
Palm

The iPhone was disruptive technology, the only companies to ride the wave have been Apple & Google.

 

[Alone]

RIM still has a larger market share than Apple. Not to mention Android currently leads.

So, who's riding the wave?

 

[ImDonly1]

RIM still has a larger market share than Apple. Not to mention Android currently leads.

So, who's riding the wave?

Not anymore

 

[badb0y]

RIM still has a larger market share than Apple. Not to mention Android currently leads.

So, who's riding the wave?

Obviously Apple is not riding the wave. Oh wait...

 

[Pliablemoose]

Don't confuse the basement dwellers with facts... It screws with their belief system.

 

[xSauronx]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903591104576467711532275104.html

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., struggling to deal with sagging demand for its aging smartphone line, will cut its global work force by about 10%, or 2,000 jobs.


so...yeah.

 

[DivideBYZero]

That's not news, it's been known and official for some time now.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I thought RIM was doing so well, selling like hotcakes overseas?

 

[Imp]

I thought RIM was doing so well, selling like hotcakes overseas?

Lower margins on cheap phones and Android?

 

[gsaldivar]

I thought RIM was doing so well, selling like hotcakes overseas?

Shipments, yes.

Sales...

Not so much.