Back in August, Research in Motion said that we would see the first BBX BlackBerry devices in Q1 early next year. Barclays Capital analyst, Jeff Kvall, however, believes that the BlackBerry Colt, which RIM failed to show out BlackBerry Dev Con 2011, is delayed more than the company acknowledges…
We believe QNX smartphones are delayed beyond management’s last public statements of a 1Q12 release,” says Kvaal. “RIM’s preference to hold the launch until fully ready is the correct decision in our view, though it does imply that management is anticipating delays in the launch. The company has recently shied away from any reaffirmation of the timeline and have had several public forums to do so. … Putting this aside, our math on carrier certification timelines which require at least six months in the US suggests a late 1Q12 launch at best. … However, we believe technical challenges are high as we have seen with the delay of Playbook 2.0, and we therefore consider a mid-year launch more likely and our checks across the distribution channel support this view.
I am doing my best to remain positive on RIM. The company, however, isn’t giving one much to work with. Many people believe that the iPhone 5 will be back to the normal June release cycle and if BBX BlackBerry devices don’t come until Q2, they will have to compete directly with the iPhone 5.
That’s too bad for RIM, IMHO… they shouldn’t postpone these devices… :(((
As much as I want to have BBX phones out first thing 1Q, I also doubt they will come thru. And if they do, it might be another half baked product (sorry, but RIM deserves this type of critisism until they prove otherwise). Now they’re scrambling to catch up, but RIM have been positioning themselves well with smart acquisitions. However, it’s going to take time to get all of these resources in place. They are behind and they will most likely bounce back, but it doesn’t look good at the moment.
It’s unfortunate that the co-CEOs took so long to respond to new advances from their competitors. And speaking of CEOs, didn’t they have six months to prove they’re both needed? Time is running out for both CEOs and for RIM itself.
The design of the phone on the photo is cool.