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

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.”