As we have discussed elsewhere a lot may depend on which ecosystem offers the best fit. Amazon too has entered the fray with a huge content portfolio to subsidize its device development and
Windows 8 appears to be coming on strong.

Apple, like IBM or Microsoft previously, has had a good run of market dominance. Nonetheless, with the loss of its visionary founder and his unique mix of market instinct and charismatic leadership, they are fast becoming just another player in the mix – albeit one with huge momentum.

By their very nature it’s almost impossible to predict paradigm shifts but my guess is that some combination of revolutionary voice interface and a display technology that will provide the visual field of a 24″ monitor, eye movement detection and input in a portable device would qualify.

In the meantime, looking forward to videoconferencing with you from a Galaxy Note II (or equivalent) sometime in 1Q2013.

p.s. Still loving the Google Nexus 7 tablet.

David Baril
Almonte ON

RIM has made it very easy for devs to make money and bring great apps to their new platform, BBX to the benefit of consumers over the old OS. Many bloggers wouldn’t know the difference since their head isn’t stuck in the sand, its up in something else!

In this post after DevCon you have nothing positive to say about Android player or any of the new and exciting developments for programmers. Just so you know many native applications can be ported over to BBX anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours, great for devs and great for consumers like me who typed this on a PlayBook! The future for RIM is up. Just because these are unavailable right now doesn’t mean RIM doesn’t get it. Blame them for being slow which is at least true!

Owner/Managers who, similar to RIM, believe their employees “live to work” versus “work to live” are out-of-touch. Marketing to that differentiating mentality is what got RIM into trouble in the first place. It’s okay to have product that is more business than consumer orientated up until the point where lines blur between the tools we require/desire for work versus personal activities. At that point, and as I argue in my post, a person’s subconscious wants overtake any and all conscious needs and there is little one can do to fight that. At least not for any length of time.

Costs and productivity are not so much “controlled” by dictating what device a workforce gets to use, but rather by creating the right sticks and carrots for achieving various levels of personal and corporate success. Placing limitations on what device a workforce can use, or what functions that device is allowed to perform best is not the answer to cost and productivity control and/or objectives.

RIM must, if it is to survive, first and foremost abandon the “live to work” philosophy, but then as you say it must also find a way to differentiate itself in the same ubiquitous space which is now dominated by a growing Apple and Android. As a colleague pointed out to me via email following my blog post “…when I see my kid’s grade 6 pals with iPhones, you know BB’s goose is cooked.”

The technology industry is cruel. Unlike politics where no matter how serious the faux-pas all can be forgiven, in the technology industry it is increasingly the case that after strike-one you’re out! We have Nortel, among others, to thank for that.

RIM’s current number one asset is the degree of customer loyalty they enjoy from BB users. Job 1 for RIM is to protect that asset and by my calculation it only has between 3-6 months at most to prove in a demonstrable way that it is committed and succeeding in doing so. If it fails at even this primary task, then like my colleague said its goose will be cooked before the US Thanks Giving … a month after iPhone 5 will be out, and I am willing to bet, within ear-shot of an iPad 3 announcement. That, my friend, is a damn tough act to compete against!