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BlackBerry's rebirth: how a fallen smartphone giant plans to remake itself
BlackBerry has stopped bleeding -- officially, at least. In a memo leaked to Reuters, CEO John Chen tells staff that three years of job cuts are over, and that the former mobile legend can start building itself back up rather than salvaging what's left of its smartphone empire. But how did it get to this point? And more importantly, how does it plan to bounce back in an era when even many of its corporate customers have moved on to Android and iOS? As you'll see in our gallery below, BlackBerry is only getting to this point after some grave errors and painful decisions -- but it at last appears to have a strategy that, while imperfect, at least acknowledges a difficult reality. [Lead image credit: AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim]
Cracking up: a brief history of BlackBerry's fall from smartphone dominance
BlackBerry is in dire straits. The smartphone maker was riding high in market share and profits just a few years ago, but it's now having trouble securing rescue money. It's yet again pinning its hopes on a new CEO who's tasked with saving a struggling industry giant. How did BlackBerry decline so quickly, though? And what might happen to the company when seemingly every option is on the table? As it turns out, BlackBerry's descent into trivial market share figures and sustained losses stems from a mixture of hubris, sluggishness and misplaced effort -- and there's no clear solution in sight.
BlackBerry abandons $4.7 billion rescue deal and replaces CEO Thorsten Heins
If you were looking for positive news about BlackBerry's future, we'd suggest you look away. Canada's favorite smartphone maker has announced that its $4.7 billion rescue deal with Fairfax has collapsed. Instead, the company has switched to Plan B -- raising $1 billion in cash with a debt issue and waving goodbye to current CEO Thorsten Heins. The board is currently looking for a replacement, but in the meantime, John S Chen, former CEO of Sybase, which is now a part of SAP, will take the reins as interim CEO. The only thing we've yet to learn is what this means for BlackBerry's Global Creative Director, but she's probably preoccupied in the recording studio.
Inside look at BlackBerry reveals failed 'SMS 2.0' push, qualms over Z10 launch
We're familiar with much of BlackBerry's history, but there are a few unanswered questions: why did Jim Balsillie resign his board position, for example? And why did the Z10 launch ahead of Q10, to disastrous results? Thankfully, The Globe and Mail has addressed some of these mysteries through a detailed exposé. We now know that Balsillie left the board after BlackBerry axed an "SMS 2.0" plan that would have replaced carriers' text services with BlackBerry Messenger. Thorsten Heins wanted the company to remain focused on hardware, according to the newspaper. As for the Z10? Heins reportedly prioritized the all-touch phone over the objections of board members like Mike Lazaridis, who saw the Q10's keyboard as necessary for standing out in a crowded market. There's even more to the story than these two revelations, so you'll want to visit the source link if you're wondering just how BlackBerry ended up in such dire straits.
WSJ: BlackBerry sale likely to be wrapped up by November
Details about an eventual sale of BlackBerry are slowly but surely starting to pick up steam. Following a confirmation from the Waterloo-based company about it being open to seeking "strategic alternatives," The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that members of the board are "aiming to run a fast auction process" which could be finalized as early as November of this year. Sourcing the well-informed people familiar with the matter, the publication goes on to say that BlackBerry has narrowed its list of potential buyers, with the sales process "expected to begin soon." We'll see how long it takes for Thorsten Heins and Co. to find someone interested in the troubled brand, but something tells us it won't be much longer before this story reaches its climax.
BlackBerry confirms it's looking for 'strategic alternatives' such as sale or going private
Remember the rumor that BlackBerry was planning to take itself private? Just a few days later and the company has confirmed that some very fundamental discussions are indeed taking place. In a press release, the Canadian smartphone maker revealed that a committee has been formed to look for "strategic alternatives" to push BlackBerry 10, which could involve a merger, selling the company or taking BlackBerry private. Naturally, there's no indication that anything will actually change at the beleaguered company, but at least we know Thorsten Heins is actively pursuing new options.
BlackBerry confirms one BB7-based phone shipping later this year
BlackBerry may see BB10 as the future of the company, but it isn't breaking with the past quite yet. Thorsten Heins just told those at BlackBerry's annual shareholder meeting that there will be one BB7-based phone this year. While he didn't elaborate further, there's a good chance he's referring to the Bold 9720 that reportedly leaked just hours ago. Don't expect a wide resurgence of BB7 devices, however. Heins mentioned that BlackBerry won't have more than six devices on sale at a time, and most of those slots will be occupied by BB10 hardware.
Thorsten Heins: tablets aren't a good business model, BlackBerry aiming to lead mobile computing in five years
Holding out for a post-RIM version of the PlayBook? That waiting likely won't end any time soon. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins used an interview yesterday to discuss the mobile environment five years out. Seems he's feeling particularly bullish about his own company's prospects. "In five years, I see BlackBerry to be the absolute leader in mobile computing -- that's what we're aiming for," he told the interviewer. "I want to gain as much market share as I can, but not by being a copycat." Not being a copycat may likely involve staying away from the crowded tablet market. "In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore," according to the CEO. "Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model." This certainly isn't the first time the exec has expressed caution about the space in the wake of the PlayBook's lukewarm reception. Heins has mentioned in the past that the company won't jump back into tablets unless it sees the potential for profits. Update: BlackBerry has since issued an official response to the interview, The comments that Thorsten made yesterday are in line with previous comments he has made about the future of mobile computing overall, and the possibilities that come with a platform like BlackBerry 10. We continue to evaluate our tablet strategy, but we are not making any shifts in that strategy in the short term. When we do have information about our PlayBook strategy, we will share it.
BlackBerry's Thorsten Heins: iPhone is dated, left behind
Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins is expectedly upbeat about BlackBerry OS and exceedingly negative towards the iPhone. Heins recognized Apple's contribution to the smartphone market, but said the company is falling behind. "Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market ... They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon. There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that." Heins added, "History repeats itself again I guess ... the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don't innovate at that speed, you can be replaced pretty quickly. The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now 5 years old. Heins then goes on to discuss multi-tasking and how BlackBerry OS outshines iOS in this area. Inherent in BlackBerry OS 10 is the ability to keep up with multiple apps running at the same time and use the Peek and Flow features to switch between apps. Apple takes a different approach and uses fast app switching that saves the state of an app when you exit it and lets you switch back to it quickly. In theory it's not multi-tasking, but to the average user, the difference between true multi-tasking and fast app switching is not really noticeable. Apple is expected to introduce iOS 7 at WWDC in June. Hopefully, the upcoming changes will preserve the reliability of the iOS that we know and love, while introducing a few new "wow" features that silence the critics.
Thorsten Heins: BlackBerry won't sell sub-$50 phones
Squint and you'll find a few neat parallels between BlackBerry and Nokia. Both are fallen giants which are staking their livelihoods on a nascent OS, while the former is a Canadian run by a European, and vice-versa. The one point where the pair's philosophies differ, however, is on the low-end market. While Nokia strove to embrace low-end phones like the Asha and the 105. Thorsten Heins has said he has no interest in producing budget phones for the developing world. At a question and answer session at the company's Waterloo HQ, the CEO was quoted as saying "You will not see us getting into the 50-, 60-buck phone segment. This is not BlackBerry." The move might alienate those who thought the Z10's elevated price in places like India was a bit excessive -- but at least Stephen Elop's got something for every wallet size.
Research in Motion now known as BlackBerry
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins just announced that Research in Motion is no longer known as "RIM," and will be simply known as "BlackBerry" going forward. "We have reinvented the company, and we want to represent this in our brand," Heins said. The company's new tagline, as seen above, is "One brand. One promise." Of course, given that RIM BlackBerry only makes BlackBerry devices, that's the logic there. "We have transformed ourselves inside and out, and we have defined a revision, a dedication to the boundless opportunities in mobile computing," Heins added. "Our customers use BlackBerry. Our employees work for BlackBerry, and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. From today on, we are BlackBerry everywhere in the world," he said. The company's stock ticker is also reflecting the new name (it's now "BBRY"), so the change is being reflected literally everywhere.
The Engadget Interview: RIM CEO Thorsten Heins on BlackBerry 10, QWERTY keyboards and changing cultures (video)
January 30th, 2013 marks the beginning of a new era for RIM. It will put to rest those doubters who questioned whether the company could survive long enough to complete its painful transition away from BlackBerries past and onto BlackBerry 10. The question then becomes what the market will do with this wholly new OS -- whether RIM can be more successful at regaining its former smartphone stature than Microsoft has thus far proven to be with its own mobile OS reboot. If there's one person who has put more thought into that situation than any other its RIM President and CEO Thorsten Heins, a man who will be celebrating something else in January: his first anniversary at the top. How has culture changed at RIM over that year and what can we expect from the company in the weeks and months to come? Answers to those questions and more in our full interview below.
BlackBerry 10 launch event to be held on January 30th
As RIM gradually inches towards the eventual launch of its new mobile OS, the company's now pinned down a concrete date for BlackBerry 10's full unveiling. It's the other side of 2012 and will happen "simultaneously in multiple countries around the world" on January 30th. No specifics on those lucky territories just yet, but RIM's official blog states that we'll hear availability (hopefully both prices and dates) for two new BB10 smartphones at the event. There's no full press release just yet, but you can see what CEO Thorsten Heins has to say about it after the break. Update: The press release is now out -- we've added it below.
RIM's latest milestone: BlackBerry 10 now being tested by over 50 carriers
Not much is going to make us excited about the BlackBerry world until RIM's latest devices actually ship, but today's announcement from Thorsten Heins is certainly good news in that regard. Today, he revealed that BlackBerry 10 units are now in the testing labs of more than 50 carriers, a necessary milestone that suggests the first BlackBerry 10 devices are still on track for a Q1 2013 debut. Naturally, it's a shame that the company is going to miss the holiday season, but if you have a BlackBerry fan in your life, we suppose there's always room for an IOU in their stocking. In the meantime, you'll find the full statement from RIM's CEO after the break.
RIM posts Q2 earnings: $2.87 billion in revenue, softer $235 million loss
RIM may have given us hope that its transition to BlackBerry 10 has turned a corner, but that doesn't mean the dark clouds have entirely broken just yet. The company's second fiscal quarter saw it generate $2.9 billion in revenue, a slight gain over last quarter, while it posted a net loss of $235 million -- again better than expected, but not the best news it could deliver. Waterloo's main challenge was holding on to its smartphone base. While RIM did expand the total BlackBerry user base to 80 million, its phone shipments dropped from 7.8 million to 7.4 million and were braced by shipments of just 130,000 PlayBooks, or half as many tablets as were delivered in the spring. The sunshine is mostly found in the total picture. RIM says it's still on track to deliver the first BlackBerry 10 phones in early 2013; while the smartphone maker is bracing for an operating loss in its ongoing third quarter, the higher revenue and reduced losses suggest to CEO Thorsten Heins that RIM is getting its fiscal house in order before BlackBerry 10 (hopefully) renews interest. Full details of the company's financial performance are available after the break.
BBM for BlackBerry 10 gets a retooled UI, predictive keyboard with language detection
Everyone's favorite messaging service, BBM has broke from cover in its new BlackBerry 10 digs at BlackBerry Jam Americas 2012. The software is sporting a redesigned UI, which places the focus on your contacts' photos instead of the regular ol' list of names. Speech bubbles that we've all become familiar with are still here and emoticons get cozy as well. Another new feature is the predictive keyboard that's capable of detecting the language that you're typing in and offers the appropriate suggestions that you may need -- even if you're switching back and forth.
RIM: BlackBerry 10 carrier testing starts in October, OS remains on schedule
Worried that RIM might face any further delays of BlackBerry 10? Don't be. CEO Thorsten Heins just confirmed at his BlackBerry Jam presentation that carrier testing for the new OS should begin this October, and that the platform launch is still slated for early 2013, as we were told this spring. As he's mentioned in the past, Heins believes carriers are "excited" about the BlackBerry update, implying that this is what's driving the certification process months in advance. Whether or not optimism is alive and well among providers, the news could be a relief for carriers and BlackBerry developers alike, either of which is likely keen to minimize the shift towards an Android-and-iPhone duopoly in the smartphone space.
Live from Blackberry Jam Americas 2012!
Details about BlackBerry 10 have been trickling out for months now, but BlackBerry Jam Americas 2012 is finally here, and we're hoping to get a longer look at RIM's next-gen OS. Company CEO Thorsten Heins is kicking things off with his keynote this morning, so join us after the break as we bring it to you live. September 25, 2012 11:30 AM EDT
BlackBerry Jam Americas 2012 starts tomorrow, get your liveblog here!
You may think that RIM's down and out, but Thorsten Heins thinks he has the Canadian mobile giant back on track, and he'll be telling us why at BlackBerry Jam Americas 2012. The show starts at 8:30AM Pacific Time tomorrow, so keep it locked on our liveblog and see what he has to say as it happens. We can't say for certain precisely what he'll be talking about, but we've got a sneaking suspicion that BlackBerry 10 will be heavily involved. Tune in tomorrow to find out!
RIM promotes UK and Ireland head in preparation for BlackBerry 10
Thorsten Heins is assembling his crack team for BlackBerry 10, hiring and firing to assemble the lineup of business heavyweights he needs. RIM's UK and Ireland chief Stephen Bates is the latest to move, being promoted into the newly-minted role of European Managing Director, while former product manager Rob Orr will take his place. A RIM spokesperson told ZDNet that the moves are to ensure the company's BB7 legacy devices remain strong sellers in a key market while preparing the region for the advent of BB10.