Bolaji, do you think it would be a good move if RIM decides to ship PlayBook with Android OS? I was going through the specs of PlayBook and surprisingly it does seem pretty strong on the hardware side. They may launch it as a separate PlayBook model and still continue with Blackberry OS on other models. After all, companies like Samsung, Creative and Motorolla are already doing it and so far their products have been fairly successful.
@JADEN, QNX won't die with the PlayBook. It'll be on their phones. And not very impressive phones, from the sounds of things.
RIM shouldn't try to compete head-to-head with Apple anyhow: they'll never, ever win. They just can't even hope to match Apple when it comes to the mainstream consumer market. Why would a casual consumer buy a PlayBook over an iPad? There are very few viable reasons. You can't even play Angry Birds on a PlayBook (and yes, I am aware of PlayBook's Android app compatibility thing... but this doesn't work as you'd expect).
RIM needs to buckle down and focus on what they do best: phones for business and enterprise users. If they can't manage to re-capture that market, RIM won't be competing with anyone because they'll be out of business completely.
If RIM dumped the PlayBook, this could save the company from waisting money in the short run but in longer term, that could have some negative repercussions. For one thing, killing the PlayBook would double as a vote of no confidence in the QNX operating system of PlayBook, on which the company has pinned the buk of its hope for a turn around. Killing the device too would remove a significant element of RIM, hobbling its chances of competing on equal footing with Apple and others.
Well, even Bolaji's editorial focuses on new product from RIM, I would like to leave on the board an opinion on a different topic that is, in a such way, correlated. RIM is trying to recover its leader position by the delivering of new products, but after all, RIM's users want and really need services from them based on messaging platform. We are experiencing a dramatical outage of messaging server, then I believe new products coming is a good news, but it is also really important to preserve continuity with right SLA on basic services. Isn't it?
RIM should definitely dump the PlayBook. With all the competition out there and very minimal margins, RIM needs to focus on updating their Blackberry's and control the hemorrhaging of the company’s value.
RIM can and will be viable without a tablet, assuming they get back to the basics and start being innovative again instead of playing catch up to Apple and Samsung.
RIM's main customers are still business professionals, many of them who aren't concerned about all the "game like features" offered on the new smartphones. Get back to focusing on them and they will be able to hold their ground.
Its high time they should stop selling playbook instead invest the same time and money in bringing out a new tablet which can establish a tough competetion to many other companies.
They have had great fans for their Blackberry phones if the same should persist in tablet i think a rational shift is required.
I totally agree. RIM now has Kindle Fire to fight with. One thing is to have hardware and second is to have medium, books, movies , etc. There is a very tougth competition and going back to roots of success would be beneficial.
I did a little research on tablet sales and tablet projections.As you can see from the charts below, research analysis firms have a wide array of projection figures for 2012 and beyond.Gartner seems to be the most optimistic in their forecasts, which is not typical of the larger research firms as they tend to be more conservative typically, as not to risk their reputations on over exaggerated projection figures.
Also, Gartner seems to predict that QNX (RIM’s mobile operating system choice) will have a 10% market share in the tablet space 2015.Pretty optimistic.
Tablet Forecasts (in Millions) in Table Format From Above Chart:
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
To save this item to your list of favorite EBN content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
