Black day for BlackBerry founders as smartphone is overtaken by Google and Android

By NATALIE THOMAS AND JANE BRADLEY
Published on Tuesday 24 January 2012 12:12

THEY were the pioneers of the smartphone and their BlackBerry device was the must-have gadget for all high-flying executives for more than a decade.

But the co-founders of Research in Motion (RIM), the firm behind BlackBerry, yesterday announced they were stepping down after an annus horribilis which saw the Canadian technology company fall further behind competitors such as Google and Apple and its shares lose 75 per cent of their value.

Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie resigned their positions as co-chief executives following 12 months of pain during which the BlackBerry also became associated with the London riots and the company was forced into an embarrassing apology after users suffered several days of service disruption in October.

The company, based in Ontario, Canada, yesterday tried to cast the resignation of its co-founders as an orderly handover at an appropriate time in the company’s development. But their departure comes amid frenzied debate over whether RIM would be sold.

Mr Lazaridis, who founded RIM in 1984, will become vice-chairman. Mr Balsillie will continue to sit on the board but not have any operational role. Chief operating officer Thorsten Heins will replace them at the helm with immediate effect.

Mr Lazaridis, speaking after the announcement, said he recognised that things needed to change at the company.

“There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership,” he said from RIM’s headquarters in the city of Waterloo. “Jim and I went to the board and told them that we thought that time was now.”

The brand made a strong marketing push three years ago to relaunch itself as a trendy smartphone rather than a business-focused model, producing a range of handsets in colours other than its trademark black and grey, while adverts were aimed more at the younger market.

The strategy, in part at least, worked. Teenagers began to embrace BlackBerry messenger as a free way of communicating, rather than relying on constant streams of text messages, which could push them across their monthly limit and cost them money.

However, the device attracted negative headlines during the London riots, with accusations the rioters were using the instant messenger service to organise themselves.

Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com, said that Blackberry had lost its unique selling point (USP) as other handset designs began to catch up and mobile users could communicate via apps which would allow them to cross platforms rather than be limited to communicating with friends who had the same brand of phone.

He said: “Mr Lazaridis talks of passing the baton, but with BlackBerry’s recent performance in the mobile market, his and Mr Balsillie’s departures smack more of a quick dash for the exit,.

“The problem is that the likes of Apple and Samsung are so dominant in their space that it’s hard to envisage what RIM can do now to gain any ground. There is a danger that their USP has been eroded.”

Polly Purvis, executive director of ScotlandIS, the trade body for the digital technology sector, said: “RIM has had some high-profile problems over the last year and do need to move up a gear if they are to continue to compete successfully with Apple and Android.

“The BlackBerry has been the handset of choice for many people, and they need to regain consumer and investor confidence.”

Related Articles

• Analysis: BlackBerry was left wanting as iPhone and Android soared

  I USED to have a BlackBerry. I dug it out from a drawer last week as my Mum wanted to see what all the fuss was about smartphones.

  0 Comments

• Anna Burnside: Communication let me down :-(

  BlackBerry has a lot of making up to do after 70 million of their smartphones lost their ‘ping’ in a global crash

  0 Comments

• BlackBerry way is under fire as top two cut pay

  THE joint chief executives of BlackBerry mobile phone maker Rim, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, have cut their own salaries to just $1 a year to fend off investor unrest at the Canadian firm’s performance.

  0 Comments

Comments

There are 4 comments to this article

Order by:

• Newest first
• |
• Oldest first

Page 1 of 1

• 1
• Show all

4

Charles Linskaill

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 04:03 PM

~3. Incandescent,, Haha very funny :))

• Report Unsuitable

3

Incandescent

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 03:38 PM

#2 Chuck - "sick and tired of them breaking down" - better get used to that phrase chuck - it'll be a common complaint about the trams.

• Report Unsuitable

2

Charles Linskaill

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 03:26 PM

Never buy a BlackBerry phone, they are dreadful mobile phones stupid clumsy menu system difficult to use, and everyone I know who has one are sick and tired of them breaking down, far far the better Samsung or HTC.

• Report Unsuitable

1

Cynicus

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 01:53 AM

Will the SNP's hired guns here switch to Apple or Android?

• Report Unsuitable

Order by:

• Newest first
• |
• Oldest first

Page 1 of 1

• 1
• Show all

Logged in as:

Comment here. Start typing your comment here:

Post comment

Please adhere to our Community guidelines

Your view

Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.