RIM Cuts 2000 Jobs

[sergei_makarov]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/busin...585/story.html

“The VPs tried to put a good spin on it,” said the former employee. “How this was setting us up for the future and about how they hate to do this but they have to streamline for the future and position themselves better for success in coming quarters ... it’s funny to hear that, because the comparison everyone is making is, are we on the verge of becoming the next Nortel?"

[chalms04]

Great, I've been trying to get a RIM job ever since I heard of them.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by chalms04

Great, I've been trying to get a RIM job ever since I heard of them.

you probably don't want a job with them right now anyways. what are you looking for, software?

edit: never mind i get it...... i'm a dumbass

crappy to see Canada lose probably its biggest tech giant... a big step backwords for Canada's high-tech industry.

[3 Justin 3]

I'll go out and speculate RIM is doing poorly because they failed to innovate the Blackberry for a long time while Apple and Android companies (Samsung, HTC, etc.) just plowed on through. Also, the Playbook was released way too late.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

you probably don't want a job with them right now anyways. what are you looking for, software?

crappy to see Canada lose probably its biggest tech giant... a big step backwords for Canada's high-tech industry.

[chalms04]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

you probably don't want a job with them right now anyways. what are you looking for, software?.

Analytics

[FlamingInfinity]

I can't wait until kermitology comes in and has a hearty laugh.

RIM has been in shambles for awhile. Android and Apple are about a step and a half ahead of RIM, and are continually gaining ground. They need to get their stuff together pretty quick and change the game.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Dude, that's gold.

[Young-Sneezy]

hipsters everywhere just felt something in their pants.




probably an iphone 4.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I'll go out and speculate RIM is doing poorly because they failed to innovate the Blackberry for a long time while Apple and Android companies (Samsung, HTC, etc.) just plowed on through. Also, the Playbook was released way too late.

That's not speculation, that's "what happened"

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by nik-

That's not speculation, that's "what happened"

yeah, I just wanted to say "speculate" so I wouldn't get verbally raped for the internet in case I was wrong.

Having had a Blackberry for a month a half (before I got my iPhone 4) I have to say I will never go back.

The thing is the definition of mediocrity.

I've been thinking about going Android if I ever get fed up with Apple, but no way will I ever get a Blackberry. The thing really has no use.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

yeah, I just wanted to say "speculate" so I wouldn't get verbally raped for the internet in case I was wrong.
.

Well if anyone were to rape you, it wouldn't be CMPunk. He is so bad at the internet, I don't think he knows how to google.

[Vulcan]

Now that Bettman is ready to deal with Balsillie, Balsillie no longer has money to burn.

[pylon]

I have to say.... the situation looks, gRIM

YEEEAAAAAHHHH!

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by FlamingInfinity

I can't wait until kermitology comes in and has a hearty laugh.

RIM has been in shambles for awhile. Android and Apple are about a step and a half ahead of RIM, and are continually gaining ground. They need to get their stuff together pretty quick and change the game.

Not so much a hearty laugh as a knowing grimace. RIM is falling apart because they have failed to innovate. They're relying on the laurels of security and enterprise communication solutions, and need to change the business model to meet that.

It's no longer about hardware for RIM. It's about leveraging the software they've created to sell and license. The longer they continue to try to develop hardware, the longer the death spiral.

Mobile became all about apps. RIM didn't make it easy to make apps. Now the platform is dying, and they're scrambling to meet existing tech.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

yeah, I just wanted to say "speculate" so I wouldn't get verbally raped for the internet in case I was wrong.

Having had a Blackberry for a month a half (before I got my iPhone 4) I have to say I will never go back.

The thing is the definition of mediocrity.

I've been thinking about going Android if I ever get fed up with Apple, but no way will I ever get a Blackberry. The thing really has no use.

What they really need to do is specialize and corner one section of the market instead of trying to appeal to everyone. I have a Blackberry and I like it, and most people I know who do a lot of field work use them and prefer them because they can put up with a lot more abuse than some of the other products out there. If you're going to get them dirty, drop them and expose them to the elements, Blackberries are the way to go. When it comes to the general market though, Apple and Android are just more pretty and bubbly. If I knew that their wasn't a good chance of me standing outside in a muddy field during rainstorm using my phone, I'd probably get an iPhone.

[Igottago]

They deserve it for that stupid commercial with the DJ guy.

[bubbsy]

releasing the playbook, and now a apple tv competitor product is another reason RIM is just not getting what makes them a strong presence in the market.

If they pushed the blackberry for business, iphones/etc for kids approach.

I love BB for work, it's perfect. disappointing that they are trying to play on all the different competitor product lines, instead of taking the one competitive advantage they have and trying to stay ahead there.

[Hack&Lube]

RIM is dead. It's the next Nortel/Nokia. Once an industry leader, to be totally forgotten.

The problem with RIM is that it's a company full of engineers, hiring more engineers from Waterloo, etc. There are no great idea people, marketers, industrial designers, etc. For years, Blackberries were the ugliest phones in the world without the features that grab the attention of the general public. There's really nothing special about the Blackberry anymore (many alternatives to BBM, many phones with physical keyboards). RIM is basically Apple in the 1990s.

RIM relied on corporations having to buy their proprietary Blackberry enterprise servers and pay for all their support and software and extortion level fees, etc. Corporations have shifted to allowing their employees use what devices they want (ios, android), and using all the cheaper solutions out there with Linux or Microsoft Exchange do everything.

Blackberry is dead meat. There is no way they can recover. Nobody is going to make apps for a 3rd proprietary platform. If you don't have the apps, you can never compete. Doesn't help that they make it almost impossible for anyone to become an app developer. There was a letter from a prospective app developer in Waterloo who complained that to even get the dev kit, he needed to pay $200 and get a public notary to prove his identity. After that, the dev kit had no complete tools, they were just libraries he had to put together himself. If you develop for IOS and Android, you just jump right into it without any barriers.

Blackberry can never compete with IOS and Android in the casual market. They should switch back to focus purely on enterprise and engineering. Maybe they can live off patents and become a patent whore like all those companies that sued RIM over the past decade while holding generic patents.

[Rhettzky]

Came for the RIM job jokes... left satisfied!