RIP RIM's Blackberry Playbook; Update on RIM's Non-Demise Demise

By Keith Edmund White

Editor-in-Chief

Canada's tech-juggernaut, Research in Motion ("RIM"), now trading as Blackberry, is still adapting to the new world of mobile devices, but its still on path to release a new generations of devices--which can hopefully return this company to premier status.

(Check out Justin McNeil 2012 post The Decline and Fall of the Blackberry Empire.)

First, WSJ reports on Blackberry's 1st quarter loss (and likely 2nd quarter loss), because of Venezuelan foreign currency restrictions.  

(Learn more about Venezuela's long-standing currency issues in this handy Economist article.)

And, yes, Blackberry continues to lose subscribers, but it has the cash to push out its new generation of phones.

But, even when Blackberry does stuff right, that doesn't mean success in this heavily competitive global marketplace for mobile devices.

From Lance Ulanoff's excellent op-ed in today's Mashable, Blackberry PlayBook Is as Good as Dead:

Today, BlackBerry (the company formerly known as RIM) essentially put a nail in the PlayBook coffin by announcing that it would not be converted to the new Blackberry 10 OS. That mobile OS is clearly the future of the company. QNX, though, bought and now developed by BlackBerry, is the past. 

In a Q1 2014 earnings press release, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins outlined the company’s near-term strategy: “Throughout the remainder of fiscal 2014, the company will invest in BlackBerry 10 smartphone launches, and the roll out of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, to continue to establish the new BlackBerry 10 platform in the marketplace.”

...

Will Blackberry ever build another tablet? If Heins can turn BB10 and its flagship phones into a success, then yes. But the signs are not promising. From the earnings statement:

“The smartphone market remains highly competitive, making it difficult to estimate units, revenue and levels of profitability ... Based on the competitive market dynamics and these investments, the company anticipates it will generate an operating loss in the second quarter.”

With this kind of fiscal outlook, it’s unlikely the company will invest heavily in new initiatives like rebooting its 7-inch tablet product line. 

So, PlayBook, it was nice knowing you. You were, in fact, impressive and innovative for your time. Your features like cards (at least on a tablet), swipe from bevel, true multitasking, wireless content sharing and more have all been copied by more successful mobile companies.
I guess you can take solace in that.