The BlackBerry 10 problem

I made fun of BlackBerry and its co-CEOs for quite some time. While I had good reason to do it, I wasn’t against a BlackBerry comeback. However, with the launch behind us, I don’t think they did enough to get themselves off the ropes.

As I said on Amplified last week, BlackBerry needed a stellar launch — both the software and hardware, as well as any new features, had to be blockbuster. They weren’t.

The company changed its name from RIM to BlackBerry, but so what? Its core business was always the BlackBerry, so the change doesn’t signify any major shift in thinking. When Apple changed its name from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple, Inc. there was a clear shift from just computers to consumer electronic devices, like the iPhone and iPad.

BlackBerry also announced that Alicia Keys would be the new Global Creative Director. A celebrity endorsement is not what people want, they want a better product.

The new BlackBerry received an average response from media, some early reviews were just bad.

BlackBerry needed to give users a reason to switch back from the iPhone or Samsung product they currently own — they didn’t do that. At most, they may have caught up to where everyone else already is, but they needed to do more if they planned to get back all of those customers.