RIM Delays BlackBerry 10 Launch: Says Development Team Needs More Time

By Thea Neuman (Google)

Updates related to RIM’s upcoming BB 10 smartphones were causing stir from quite some time but it seems that all is not well with this Waterloo based tech-giant. RIM’s President and CEO, Thorsten Heins, expressed his displeasure about company’s first quarter sales that showed a drop of 43% (a share drop of 28 cents), but what took everyone by surprise was an announcement that came out of the blue.

Heins announced that RIM has decided to delay BlackBerry 10 smartphones’ launch and instead of rolling them out in 2012, these smartphones will be released by first quarter of 2013. Besides expressing a clear displeasure on company’s quarterly results where the company witnessed around 43% fall in sales on the previous quarter, Heins didn’t shy in confessing that BB 10 development needs a bit extra time for sprucing up the upcoming models in the best possible manner.

Earlier it was understood that BB 10 launch is extremely significant from every point of view but now after looking at the results of first quarter, it will not be an exaggeration to say that BB 10 next-gen smartphones can be an ultimate saving grace for RIM. Unquestionably, RIM had to face many challenges in recent past, and some condemnation also came along for laying off about 5000 workers to reduce the stress on company’s profits. Heins clearly stated that it is worth mulling over company’s strength, and RIM should focus on those opportunities which the current market has to offer. Yes, this fact is acceptable that every organization has its own set of strengths and weakness, but smartness lies in recognizing an upcoming opportunity, much before its competitors do.

Heins statements show that instead of relying on a defensive strategy, he is ready to get into an aggressive mode where there will be more emphasis on strategic planning and decision making. Heins also highlighted the strengths possessed by RIM, like mounting Blackberry subscriber base, economy of scale due to a huge base, exclusive network architecture, and last but not the least, industry leading security capabilities. Heins assured that they’ll deliver the best BB 10 smart phones in coming time and said that BB 10 is RIM’s top priority.

But he stressed on the fact that for offering the most dynamic, quality oriented, reliable, and most user-friendly Blackberry so far, RIM’s development team will require more time. He enthusiastically mentioned that BB jam session was successful and BB 10 platform is gradually creating a place for itself by attracting attention of app developers and content partners.

Though news regarding postponement of BB 10 smartphones is not welcomed by die-hard fans of Blackberry who were restlessly awaiting the release of super classy and brand new ‘L-and-N’ models, but eventually they will understand that RIM wants to deliver the perfect smartphone and they need time for that. Loyal fans of Blackberry, of course, won’t mind the delay – especially if they know that RIM is really working hard and is dedicated to deliver something which will be capable of surpassing consumer’s expectations. We all know that hard work goes a long way, and we hope BB 10 would be the best Blackberry ever.