The general consensus right now is that BlackBerry is in the gutter and doesn’t have a chance of getting out. However, I believe the once king of mobile has a legitimate pedigree to achieve a rebound. I don’t think they can ever regain the top spot in the near future, but the mediocre sales of Windows Phone 8 have left the third spot still a viable option.
With the groundwork laid in the past, and the innovations of the present, BlackBerry 10 has a chance to succeed. First, and foremost, BlackBerry still has a huge brand name, and user base. Currently, BlackBerry still has over 80 million users worldwide. Granted, all of those users are running BlackBerry 7, they still have a Berry in their hands, and allow RIM the opportunity to continue on their current path. BlackBerry doesn't have to blow things out of the water. It just needs to be on par with the iOS and Androids of the world, and offer BB7 users an upgrade path. If RIM can bring in top name developers, many current users will stick with what they know.
From the demos we've seen of BlackBerry 10, the software seems to offer some fresh ideas on a gesture based UI. I know that some of these are refreshes on things we've seen from the likes of Meego and webOS, but RIM has tweaked them all into a single idea of the “Flow” interface. The new way to interact with the UI with gestures in BB10 looks promising, and can really take over for the initial wow factor left wanting for apps. Both webOS and Meego showed how passionate a fan base can be around an intuitive, and new, paradigm of how to use a touch screen device. While the companies backing those operating systems have failed them, RIM has the opportunity to do something completely different. They just have to do it well.
Last, but not least, I still believe there is a huge benefit from smartphone software and hardware being produced by the same company. There is no arguing that part of the success of Apple directly correlates to the fact that the software is built for that specific device in mind. BlackBerry has always had a similar philosophy in Waterloo and I think it will translate well with BlackBerry 10. With launching with a select few handsets all running similar hardware, RIM has a chance to create a nice harmony between software and hardware and produce a fluid end experience.
RIM still has a lot to do to make BlackBerry 10 a success, and not all of the pieces are in house problems. They still have to find a way to make developers excited about the new platform launch, but RIM isn't quite ready to just become a chapter in smartphone history books either. With the launch event on January 30, we will really begin to see just how this story may unfold.
Image Credit: Tinhte.vn
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