@Nemos RIM's market sorry state very pitable. Though, RIM market performance in smartphone segment outstripes its PC tablet comparable to rivals. I cast my vote NO and the only reason why RIM should remain in tablet production is to drastically make a low cost tablet PC. For me that may make it have a considerable share of PC tablet market potion as well as integrating BBM model to it. What're your toughts?
I believe RIM should keep the tablet. If we take Apple's example, users love everything about the brand and they buy everything they release. I have friends that have 2 iPods (shuffle, as watch and iPod touch), iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro, iMac, Apple TV (true story!).
Companies should try to aim at that and create an environment where users get to know a system and want that in another device, for another use.
Saying all that, they need to do a better job in everything... better phone, better tablet, better OS, better marketing.
Basically you want them to create a whole ecosystem which parrallels what Apple have done?
I for one find it difficult to happen.Would rather see RIM stick to its strengths and keep producing good quality,reliable handsets which work very,very well for most executives(basically giving them no reason to switch to a competitor atleast for Business).
Well, that would leave them with that niche market (that not even executives want, all of them want an iPhone). So with that niche, they would need to scale down their business (since they started to compete in the 'big boys' market).
I seriously doubt that investors want them to scale it down. And in order to compete, I don't think "we offer secure emails" cuts it anymore.
I guess thats why the say RIM is Stuck between a Rock and a Hard place!!!!
Not a great place to be in,Only thing they can leverage today is their Fan-base especially the fact they consistently rank as having the best security in place.
Well, I hope they don't think that's going to last forever. The corporate users might care but more and more "regular" users rather get cool gadgets and games!
I know RIM is losing tremendous market-share(& what is even more critically important-mind-space) in Western Markets.
But you will be very,very surprised to see how popular RIM is in Asia(particularly India and the Middle-East)-Even I was amazed on my travels there.
The main reason is the Blackberry Messenger and the fact that they still have some of the most robust handsets on the market with a full keypad(Most consumers don't care about security).
Maybe this (& The Enterprise market)is the way to go for RIM?
But you will be very,very surprised to see how popular RIM is in Asia(particularly India and the Middle-East)-Even I was amazed on my travels there.
@tech4people i agree with you on RIM's market share in western communities. But in UK, is also commonly use among youths than any other smartphones. In addition, in Africa Blackberry is most popular. I think, RIM should also increase more on its already established markets in developing world and hold onto it with strategy center towards those places.
Thats precisely why I warned against writing off RIM so early(as most Western Writers tend to do).
The thing is because RIM is based in Canada and is a Canadian Listed company what Investors/Journalists/Analysts in Canada/America say carries more weight(and is reflected in its abysmal share price).
If instead RIM was listed in Hong Kong/Singapore/Shanghai/Mumbai/Johannesberg ;the considerations (and share-price)would be very,very different.
Maybe its time to consider a dual-listing for the stock????
Thanks tech4people for the link as per the latest at RIM.
Would the change bring new life to the RIM in market segment where it's currently being struggled both stocks and product?
The new CEO - Mr Thorsten Heins, should quickly address market where RIM's Blackberry strongholding by injecting new strategies so as to maintain RIM lead.
I would also like to see more competition in the mobile space(Apple's products are beyond stale today in my opinion).
Lets wait and watch if RIM can challenge the duopoly at the top today.
What is needed is basically a Design change.You need to not just re-focus on your strengths and leverage your existing customer base but all build products that WoW! the customer-base and provide more incentives to App developers to develop for RIMs OS.
Like I said it ain't gonna be easy but somebody's gotta do it.
In the LATAM region, RIM is also very popular (also because of the BBM) but over time, I've seen how that has migrated. The higher end costumers migrate to iPhones and high-end Android phones at a rather fast pace. The lower segments are still using BBs, but I don't think that will last forever.
We might see a major shift in market share in the near future,especially if the Android or Nokia-Windows combo starts to excite users in LATAM with better offerings as well as with more useful apps.
Still RIM remains a potent in those markets even today.
An interesting thing happens in the DR (not sure where else) but people have Blackberrys but only as a phone (no data) and service providers have a product where they pay for data (including BBM) for a few hours, a day, the weekend, etc.
This way the customers don't have to pay a monthly fee, it depends on their income, etc.
What this would work like would be basically very much like how a Pre-paid Cellphone connection works.
Would such a system be to the disadvantage of RIM? I am not so sure.
After all,Telecom Providers have more to lose in such a system(where the Instrument uses Data services only upto a point,beyond which the Data services get switched off).
I have actually seen such a system in action in the most Vibrant Telecom market in the world-India.
The Largest Telecom firm there-Airtel has a Pre-paid data services card;I just don't know if its available for RIM.
But then,why would you use a RIM phone if you can't use Messenger Services on a 24/7 basis? After all is'nt that the major Selling point of RIM Handsets???
Well, they dont have a choice. The income level of that group is very low and probably can't afford it.
What mobile operators do, and is very smart, is they create the demand... After a while they will create the dependency.
Yes, Mr.Roques, I agree with you on this: " they need to do a better job in everything... better phone, better tablet, better OS, better marketing.." Companies in general should aim at making their products better as the best solution for everything. But this is not always possible, which might be the case of RIM.
"I have friends that have 2 iPods (shuffle, as watch and iPod touch), iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro, iMac, Apple TV (true story!)."
And about that: a simple wow! That's a nice iCollection. I wish I had a complete collection just like that. :)
Yes, I also vote No. I have almost the same thoughts as you. It will be interesting from the readers who voted yes. What kind of arguments make them to vote yes.
Do not forget the phrase "we never give up" . If you are unsuccessful on something, it doesn't mean that you have to give up but you must try harder to achieve your goal.
@Nemos @ Susan, investors' perspective seen Samsung and Apple doing pretty well in market despite the global financial crisis. Do you think investors would be patient for re-strategizing?
I also see Apple doing pretty well in the market despite the global financial crisis. This is one of the reasons why I am positive about the electronics sales ending the year in a pretty good condition, as I have commented on a different poll.
Do you mean if investors are going to be patient enough to wait until and if RIM changes its strategy? That depends of how much the investor believes in the company and if the new strategy is known and attarctive enough to make the wait worth it. It also means taking a risk, but after all, that's what investors do.
This is one of the reasons why I am positive about the electronics sales ending the year in a pretty good condition, as I have commented on a different poll.
I support that to an extent. But on general note, the much concerns of natural disaster in Asia pacific worth seeking an alternative locations for electronic parts manufacturing. What're your views on that?
Seeking alternative locations for electronics parts manufacturing is a good plan, indeed. All the eggs shouldn't be put in the same basket. However, Asia pacific might be looking for alternatives to have solutions when facing natural disasters, which obviously no one can predict with certainty.
It's a good question, Wale. I'll have to think deeper about this.
I don’t think they have to go out from tablet sector. May be play book is a big flop, that doesn’t mean that they have to wind up the business. By learning the reason for failure and a good home work can help them to come up with a world class product.
It is a common knowledge that Blackberry's playbook turned out to be a disaster. Is that applicable to HP's tablet computer? Or competitive market effect that is playing a big role?
1)Their encryption technologies(which caused so much brouhaha last year)
2)Their Keypad(the touchscreen ones on most leading competitors just don't cut it for most busy execs)
and
3)The Messenger
Its time for Blackberry to re-affirm its strengths and build on its reputation as a no-nonsense operator in the market.
For that reliability issues like the one which happened last week need to be tackled with an iron fist.
If they do this there is hope for Blackberry.
Regarding the Playbook(whether to keep pushing it or shut it down)-That's a decision which should be taken only after the QNX OS has gotten widespread traction in the market.
The recent, widespread RIM service outages is a perfect example of how RIM has much bigger priorities than trying to compete in the tablet market, a market in which it is ill-suited to compete in anyhow.
RIM really needs to focus on their phones and playing to their strengths in the enterprise space. And of course, they need to do damage control and make some upgrades to ensure an outage such as this one never occurs again... another couple of incidents like this and there will be a mass exodus.
I had the opportunity to work with people from RIM Design department, and Had the chance to visit their facility, I can say they can do that and even more.
@mario8a, I can't agree more! It seems many people want to write off RIM, forgeting the thrill and fanfare the blackberry brought to all of us, before others joined the portable communication race.
I see no reason why RIM should exit the market. RIM is a strong company, and i think a flow in their strategy with th playbook could be workedout internally.
There are too few strong competitors in the tablet market, and RIM is needed in there!
I wholeheartedly agree (from a consumer point of view)and respect your opinion regarding the Blackberry playbook here.
But I also feel that ultimately Blackberry is responsible to its shareholders and so the decision which most benefits its shareholders(especially in the Long-term) is the right/correct decision.
For this I feel that Blackberry insiders/Senior & experienced management have the best understanding of the situation at hand here.
if RIM, feels its best for their share holders if they stick with the smart phone market stricktly, thats up to them, like you mentioned, mine was largely from a customer's point of view.
if RIM, feels its best for their share holders if they stick with the smart phone market stricktly, thats up to them, like you mentioned, mine was largely from a customer's point of view.
But i think the customer's view is worth listening too sometimes
The customers viewpoint is ALWAYS worth listening to. After all,the customer is always right. If it weren't for customers then no business would exist in the first place.
But it is even more important to listen to what the shareholders(especially the Majority shareholders) think and feel about the direction the coming is in and is going.
After all,nobody has a higher stake in the wellbeing of the company than the Shareholders/Owners.
It must be very tough decision for HP to quit lucratvie Tablet market. RIM should follow HP. If you are not leader or among next two of consumer product market segment, there is not much to gain in that market. RIM can always think of other innovative product.
HP can easily dump its tablet business portfolio because the company has made its market share in hardware sector for a while. It is also spreading its tentacles to cloud sector. In my opinion, RIM should stick to its tablet PC should the price become more favourable to larger percent of consumers.
RIM needs to create the same experience that Apple has, people are all-apple, and the tablet is becoming another consumer electronic that customers want, and will be easier if they all talk between them (sync with blackberry, get the bb messenger, get the secure email, etc).
RIM should focus more on the high margin business rather than trying to enter the paper thin profit margin PC business. They should look around and learn from the industry trend. Most of the player are thinking of quitting.
RIM does try to make Android apps run on their tablets, not bad after all. Porbably they should try to have more content services provided on their tablets. This is what Amazon Kindle Fire is doing: offering cheap tablets but users will purchase additional addons.
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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.
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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.
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