BlackBerry CEO goes after Apple

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Here’s a guy that can barely sell enough devices to keep his company in business and he goes after Apple.



  • gjgustav

    Good. Maybe they’ll reverse their decision on freemium games, and always on DRM.

  • prefekt

    Yeah, it’s not a great source, but is he wrong?

    • http://www.johncblandii.com John C. Bland II

      Oh…just saw your comment. :-D

  • http://www.johncblandii.com John C. Bland II

    Maybe so but was he wrong?

    • http://twitter.com/AlexDaUkrainian Alex Novosad

      Yep. The keyboard was invented quite a while ago – does that fact make keyboards “outdated”? Same with mice. Windows-based operating systems. Apple popularized a new way of interacting with a computing device – it will be around for decades. It’s not like switching between apps in Android, Web OS, or BB10 is any different. Sure, there’s convention to get to 4-6 previously-launched apps (just like double-tapping home button on iPhone), but to get to an app you haven’t launched yet, you click Home, then find your app. On Android, you often have to also click Apps after clicking the Home button – an extra step that clearly doesn’t make it any better.

      • http://www.johncblandii.com John C. Bland II

        If the Apple keyboard I’m typing on now still worked like the old clicky-clacky keyboards? Yep…it would make it outdated, especially if I had a wire tied to my iMac.

        The same goes for mice. My Magic Mouse is far and above greater than the original mice.

        His point is: The same UI launched in 2007 is the same UI launched in 2012 and, most likely, 2013. What’s different? 4 finger app switching that no one knows about? (seriously…the discoverability is terrible on some of the iOS gestures)

        On Android, you’re right, you may have to go into the app tray after touching home but most likely you’ve setup your most used apps on the home screen or in a folder on your home screen. I’m not arguing that as a point just clarifying the “extra step” piece. I’m also not arguing Android vs iOS in this discussion.

  • http://twitter.com/CoreyTamas Joel In Real Life

    To be fair, what’s he going to say? “Apple’s pretty much beating us like a rented mule and there’s no point in us even trying”? If he did, the next thing he’d be doing is saying “Here’s my resignation.”

    • Gonji

      He could say nothing and just get on with the job of saving his company

      • http://twitter.com/CoreyTamas Joel In Real Life

        No, he couldn’t say nothing. Saying nothing is part of what put RIM in trouble in the first place. You don’t enter the mobile space without acknowledging the existing titans. And he did so with measure and intelligence (as opposed to, say, Google’s Eric Schultz who talks about how their products will erase the competition and it never happens).

        Giving a reply to the “What about Apple?” question is key to saving the company. And, like a smart CEO, he did so without setting himself up for a fall later.

        • http://www.johncblandii.com John C. Bland II

          I agree on all points except Schultz. When did he say anything about erasing competition?

          • Jens

            His name is Schmidt, Moron. God…

          • http://www.johncblandii.com John C. Bland II

            You did see I typed that in reference to Joel’s spelling, right? :-D

  • Scruff0

    The level of innovation is so high, but we out-innovated our competitors so innovatingly that I almost innovated in my pants at how innovating we were.

    The use of the term ‘innovate’ has almost as much power in the language now as Charlie Sheen’s ‘winning’.

  • Canucker

    Depends on whether you want to start afresh with new hardware and still spluttering ecosystem or want to actually get stuff done with a stable OS with a universe of apps.

  • Mother Hydra

    ” … the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly.”

    Really?! You don’t say. How is that android app emulation working to bolster your non-existent app ecosystem Bore-sten?