Will RIM be the New Apple?
Mohamed is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
"the BB10 connect users not just to each other, but to the embedded systems that run constantly in the background of everyday life - from parking meters and car computers to credit card machines and ticket counters."
Those were the words of Thorsten Heins, Research in Motion's (NASDAQ: BBRY) CEO.
At face value it seems that Heins is implying that the BB10 will include NFC capabilities. However there may be some deeper meaning in his words. It may be that RIM wants to take an evolutionary step, be a trailblazer, be the next big thing in mobile, umm again!!!
Plagued by stagnation and unable to keep up with Google and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), The company found itself years behind when it came to mobile technology. However it may be that RIM does not intend simply to catch up to its rivals with the BB10 by including on device apps, or touch, or 4G LTE, but actually go one step ahead of the pack in successfully connecting mobile with the physical world.
When it comes to innovation and new products that actually take off, Apple has always been a trailblazer. Apple introduced the world to Graphic User Interface and the mouse in the 1980s with Macintosh. It ushered in the age of legal digital music with the iPod. It was the first company to successfully introduce a tablet computer to the masses with the iPad.
The iPhone, possibly the most profitable product in history, drew together a number of innovations already developed separately—touchscreen phones, capacitive touchscreens, sophisticated multitouch user interfaces—and combined them in a product greater than the sum of its parts.
The iPhone which is probably the only product in history to garner economist predictions about the impact of its new version launches on US GDP, revolutionized mobile and made touch the new industry standard.
This, even though it wasn't taken too seriously by many of its competitors at the time it was launched back in 2007. RIM saw the iPhone as a toy and insisted for years that QWERTY is the most exciting thing in mobile. Microsft's Balmer had this to say about the iPhone;
"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance."
No Chance huh?
Apple just released the newest version of the iPhone this month. Naturally, it shattered all previous records, with 2 million phones sold in the first 24 hours. Apple marketed the iPhone 5 as the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since the iPhone. Not everyone may agree, though. It appears that the new iPhone offers a little more than features already out in other phone models and cosmetics, being lighter than a can of tuna, but heavier than a bagel and thinner than the Samsung SIII, but not a slice of cheddar cheese according to Bloomberg West.
The iPhone 5 release generated record sales as a result of superb marketing by Apple, but left alot to be desired. This may play to the benefit of Apple's competitors, mainly RIM who according to the words of its CEO is in the beginning of a transition that is expected once again to change the way people communicate.
So can RIM take the next big step with BB10 and successfully connect mobile with the physical world using NFC technology? Only time will tell.
Eliteinvesting has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Google. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Apple and Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.If you have questions about this post or the Fool’s blog network, click here for information.
