Jim Balsillie Remains Optimistic About BlackBerry’s Future

1:15 pm on November 17, 2009 | Category: Business, Mobile Devices, Cell Phones, PDAs

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Research In Motion co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, expressed optimism about the company’s future in a recent interview, downplaying analysts’ concerns that intense competition could cut into RIM’s revenue and market share.

“When we went public [in 1997] everyone was saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to get crushed by Motorola, Ericsson and paging and this emerging Nokia,’” said Balsillie, in response to concerns about the flurry of new smartphones hitting the market this year. “I’m not trying to be dismissive, and I’m not trying to be glib, but this has played before, several times. All that’s different is there’s a couple more zeros on everything.”

But as the smartphone market grows and the boundary between consumer and enterprise devices continues to blur, market conditions are undoubtedly changing. The presence of entertainment and multimedia features on enterprise devices is no longer seen as a luxury, but a virtual expectation. Research In Motion has already made efforts to respond to this demand with combination consumer/enterprise devices like the BlackBerry Tour, and is expected to continue this endeavor with the forthcoming BlackBerry 9900, which will feature both a touchscreen display and physical QWERTY keyboard.

Whether RIM’s famed BlackBerry device can remain on top of the ever-evolving smartphone market remains to be seen, but any failure certainly won’t be for lack of trying.

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    1. I don’t think RIM would survive by just copying others’ smart phones.

      RIM needs to ditch its OS and build on top of LINUX.

      RIM also needs to find a way to cut cost.

      Example: HTC doesn’t invest a lot in R&D, all it does is load other OS and sell.

      Is RIM ready for it?

      Comment by Ka Wang — November 17, 2009 #

    2. What RIM needs is a marketing campaign that blows away the competition. And it’s not an NHL hockey team; but I KNOW what it is the company needs.

      Comment by MGR — November 18, 2009 #

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