I was reading an interview of Research in Motion CEO, Mike Lazaridis, and one of the things he said that I found very interesting was “ it is far from certain that video will become the “killer app” that defines smartphones”. I’ve go to ask the question..
Is Big Mike aware that smartphones other than BlackBerry devices actually do quite well?
It seems like the more interviews Mike Lazaridis does lately, the more it appears that he is completely oblivious to the world of smartphones outside of what RIM does. The only platform that the future of video is “uncertain” on is the BlackBerry. Look at all the websites that are building, or, have already built, video players for the iPhone OS.
Mark my words… Video is, and, will continue to be a big frigging deal on smartphones! Pooh-poohing this fact because your platform lags behind in this area makes you look arrogant, if not misinformed…
Steve Swasey, VP of Corporate Communications at Netflix, had this to say on the Netflix blog after announcing that there would be a Netflix client for the iPad…
For those of you asking whether Netflix will be on the iPhone and iPod Touch: We wouldn’t invite you to dinner without planning to serve dessert. In other words, we’re working on it so stay tuned.
Oh yes, Big Mike… Video will be a killer app on smartphones. There’s really no question about that. The question to you, however, are you arrogant, or, misinformed?
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Time is now for a shakeup at RIM. They are in denial.
I think RIM’s board of directors need to give Mike a vote of no confidence. He’s clearly stuck in his own world. RIM needs a radically fresh approach and embrace new technologies and form factors “if” they want to remain relevant and competitive.
The screen size on everything but the Storm and Storm2 is just too small to really enjoy video. I think RIM needs to put all they’ve got into the Slider. Hopefully, they are working on a horizontal slider as well.
I am glad you are finally starting to see the light.
There are only two things keeping RIM afloat. The fact that the iPhone isn’t sold on Verizon or Sprint, and corporate users usually get their lackberrys paid for by their jobs.
Are you STILL Trolling these BlackBerry posts?
Don’t confuse talking to carriers and operators as speaking to consumers. It also appears that th trend may be reversing in data plan retention
I agree with you both, actually. I know that most people want to be “entertained” by their phones, but personally I’d rather have a phone that does email / PIM well and has NO video or music capabilities over a phone that’s fun but not a great communication tool.
If I want a good video / media experience, I’ll get the iPad; I wouldn’t care to watch anything even on the bigger Blackberry or iPhone screens. To me, that’s not the purpose of a phone. Someone was telling me the other day about how he could watch TV on his phone…that’s just absurd to me! Who has the TIME to watch ANYthing, be it on a TV or otherwise? What little free time I have is usually spent commenting on blogs, haha.
Anyway not everyone agrees with me, but I’ll bet there are plenty who do. I think if Mike L wants to stay competitive, he’ll have a couple different product lines marketed towards people who want ‘fun’ phones vs ‘work’ phones, but RIM can definitely still do well with phones that are more work than fun, I think.
@Marcus
Good video / media experience can benefit the business world as well.
RIM needs to understand this.