SOURCE: crackberry.com

*UPDATE* - We reached out to RIM to get clarification on the BlackBerry 10 launching in January comment and here is what we got back - "We obviously want it to launch as soon as possible and that’s the point Thorsten was making, but as we’ve stated before, the goal is Q1 calendar 2013 and that remains our goal. "

This afternoon I had a chance to read through the entire interview that our friend Al Sacco from CIO.com did with RIM CEO Thorsten Heins. It's a great read, and in my opinion it is one of Thorsten's best interviews yet. It's a long interview, but definitely worth your time.

I really wish RIM would have done as good a job communicating on the Q1 conference call so that they wouldn't need to redeem themselves like this now. But it is what it is.

RIM really needs to keep hammering its message home. Because it seems that no matter what they say there is a steady flow of misinformation about the company. Just today, I was watching BNN (Canada's business TV channel) and two guests were discussing RIM. They are both professionals who should be more careful than to spew garbage. Yet one of the guests said RIM is now burning cash. He said it as if it's a fact, which is completely wrong.

So, I went through Al Sacco's interview with Thorsten and here are the bits that I thought were most interesting.

BlackBerry 10 comes in January. Remember how I commented on Thorsten's CBC radio interview a few days ago? In that interview Thorsten said the BB10 delay was only two months. And now, today, in the CIO.com interview he's saying the release is scheduled for January. His exact quote was, "In January with the full touch device and the QWERTY coming, I think we will reinstall faith in RIM."

A QWERTY device comes very soon after an all-touch device. Thorsten commented a few times that there will be only a short wait between the first and second BB10 devices. And it sounds like both are currently scheduled for January, which is great.

RIM really feels they need to crack the all-touch market. Thorsten acknowledges that RIM is losing market share globally. He believes the QWERTY market has a much slower growth rate than the all-touch market. So RIM needs to crack this market to recover (especially in the USA). Kevin has written about this before, and it's obvious RIM agrees.

Thorsten has experience with turnarounds. This is something I didn't realize. RIM's CEO was at Siemens running the optical transport division at a time when it was losing money. According to Thorsten, "It was an aged portfolio, outdated, under heavy attack from Chinese competitors, and we turned it around. One and a half, two years later, it turned profitable, and then it became the most profitable division of Siemens actually."

RIM says carriers will support BB10 to avoid the iOS / Android duopoly. This is the most relevant quote from Thorsten: And also, the carriers are supporting us, Al, because they see a duopoly. iPhone and iOS are proprietary and basically closed to them. And they see Android now as actually kind of monopolized by Samsung". This is a strong statement, and it's certainly true that Samsung is dominating Android these days.

Why would carriers want to be controlled by Apple and Samsung? Bring on the choice. Bring on BB10.

BB10 Delay from a Developer's Perspective

Source: Crackberry.com


We know that the latest earnings call from RIM wasn't the best news. Both Kevin and Chris have already given their thoughts and opinions so I'm not going to bore you with more of the same.

Clearly I wasn't pleased with the announced delay of BlackBerry 10 but who would be. However, one thing crossed my mind last night and that is the developers who would be affected by the setback.

We have seen from the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour that devs are extremely keen to work with the forthcoming platform. Not just current BlackBerry developers, but also ones that currently work on other operating systems. Many of these have been working towards getting a BB10 application ready for Q4 this year. Now that the OS will not be available until Q1 2013 this means those devs will not be able to make the money they expected quite so soon.
So I thought I had better have a word with a developer about this and get his views on the matter. And who better than Jerome Carty from Kisai Labs, who developed the amazing Twitter app Blaq for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

You can check out Jerome's thoughts on the latest news below:

CB: The RIM Q1 2012 earnings call may have been along the lines of what we thought was going to happen but I for one wasn't expecting to hear the news that BlackBerry 10 was going to be delayed. Were you?

JC: I did not expect a delay in the launch of BlackBerry 10 devices and I was a little shocked when I read about.

CB: Being a successful developer already how do you feel about the setback?

JC: The delay in BlackBerry 10 may or may not impact current interest in products that are already in market. However, if RIM doesn't think it's ready, I have faith that they've learned some things from the past and know
not to push it out this time around.

CB: The BB10 Jam World Tour has been a great success. Do you think the news will discourage developers from committing to the BlackBerry 10 platform?

JC: The BB10 Jam World Tour has been a great driver of interest in the platform. With the delay, RIM has more work to do to continue to encourage developers to build for the new platform. The best thing they can do right now is give developers updated tools sooner.

CB: I suspect many BlackBerry fans will have lost a little faith in RIM and feel disheartened. From a developers point of view do you think this will have a knock on effect on RIM's business or do you think the TeamBlackBerry
spirit will overcome the BB10 delay?

JC: It will affect the business in the short-term. However, no one knows what the long-term implications are. I'm hoping for the best. RIM is on the right path but they need to put a turbo on the vehicle that's getting them there and they'll be fine. Also, I wish the best to those who were unfortunately let go.

So there you have it, not all doom and gloom. Yes, we want BlackBerry 10 ASAP and RIM need to get their act together but if the developers still have some faith I believe that is half the battle. 

BB Dev Blog post by Alec Saunders

Over the last twelve months, I hope you’ve all seen the changes in how we interact with you, our BlackBerry® developers.

You’ve seen us commit to you in a way that many have remarked upon, starting last year with initiatives including BlackBerry® DevCon Americas, the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet and BlackBerry® 10 Dev Alpha seeding programs, hackathons, BlackBerry® 10 Jam in Orlando, and the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour that we’ve been running across 23 cities. Some of you have even said that this “new” Research In Motion® (RIM®) is the best platform company for developers to work with today.

Earlier this year when Thorsten Heins took the reins as our new CEO, he was very open about the approach the company would be taking to this new platform launch. Yesterday, he delivered some tough news: a shift in timeline for the launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform until the first quarter of 2013.

When we in the Developer Relations group were informed of the news, our first thoughts were with you – our development community – who are continuing to work with us to build great new applications for BlackBerry 10. You’ve got businesses to run, rent to pay, and investors to answer to. You are the folks who have skin in the game now, and aren’t just waiting for a new phone personally. We know this delay affects you, and we’re sorry.

Despite yesterday’s announcement, I want you to know that we remain strongly committed to you. While RIM continues to work towards the launch of BlackBerry 10, our engagement levels and plans for our joint success have not changed.

The BlackBerry 10 platform is designed to offer developers the tools they need to drive a successful business, including simplified rich development; the ability to create, deliver and share powerful visually stunning content, quickly; and multiple paths toward monetization. We are committed to this launch, and to continuing to work with you to make this launch a success. We will work to ensure that the launch is executed brilliantly, with a complete platform that delivers the best experience for our customers.

Over the last few months, the level of excitement, dedication and pride from our developer partners and from our employees has been both gratifying and humbling for me.

My pledge to you is that we will continue to work with you, to invest with you, to create opportunities with you, to be successful with you, and to be worthy of the trust and support you have given us.

Alec Saunders, VP Developer Relations
Research In Motion