In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins went so far as to suggest that Apple’s iOS was an outdated operating system and that Blackberry would soon be passing it by. Really? Never mind that Apple’s iOS operating system and user interface is so innovative and popular that it resulted in the much-publicized Samsung/Apple copyright infringement case last year (which Apple won).
Sure, Android devices are still number one in the market (mostly because the Android operating system is available on a number of devices and iOS is available only for the iPhone and iPad), but it’s interesting that Heins would even make that leap, especially when you look at Blackberry’s 3.2% of the 2012 smartphone market, which may slip even further. Hines is placing a lot of faith in his new device, the Blackberry z10 , which looks strikingly like one of its other competitors, the Windows Phone (which had 4% of the marketplace in 2012).
Before Mr. Heins throws more stones, though, he better make sure that his proprietary network is more stable. Take it from someone who has supported a number of Blackberry devices in a corporate setting – they are an IT guy’s worst nightmare (see this Google search result).
Sticks and stones may break Apple’s bones, but Blackberry, your market share may hurt you.
–Joe Bowen
