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The BlackBerry, Trying to Avoid the Hall of Fallen Giants

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  • The BlackBerry, Trying to Avoid the Hall of Fallen Giants

    I think I am the last BB user of my department........not for long thug, will switch to iphone in two months.



    The BlackBerry, Trying to Avoid the Hall of Fallen Giants
    New York TimesBy SAM GROBART and IAN AUSTEN | New York Times – 51 minutes ago

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    FORGET the Union — what’s the state of the BlackBerry?

    Research in Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, sent its co-chief executives packing last week and replaced them with Thorsten Heins, who had been RIM’s chief operating officer. How would he characterize his employer?

    “We make the best communications devices in the world,” said Mr. Heins, who met with editors and reporters from The New York Times on Friday.

    Not everyone feels the same way. Over the last year, RIM’s share price has plunged 75 percent. The company once commanded more than half of the American smartphone market. Today it has 10 percent.

    RIM has two, maybe three ways forward.

    The first — the one that Mr. Heins is clearly aiming for — is a triumphant comeback after a near-death experience. Think Apple and its iMac. RIM is on the verge of upgrading its PlayBook operating system — now with, among other things, e-mail, a feature that the original PlayBook bafflingly lacked — and will release the BlackBerry 10 OS this year.

    Behind Door No. 2 is a gradual decline and diminution as rivals like Apple, Google and Microsoft devour most of the market; to some degree, they already have. BlackBerry would keep the scraps — a small but dedicated following of corporate and government customers who want its proprietary messaging and security features.

    Then there is the third option: oblivion. The road of progress is littered with the corpses of fallen titans. Objects that once seemed as indispensable as the companies that made them have been mercilessly superseded — as seen below. And RIM ought to know: with mobile devices like the BlackBerry 957, it helped to extinguish the pager era.

    SONY WALKMAN (1979-2010) Before the Walkman, “personal audio” meant holding a transistor radio to your ear. Sony’s invention created an entire category of devices and helped make the company the technology leader of the 1980s. New models (Thinner! Auto-reverse!) were eagerly anticipated, the LP was relegated to the attic and tender moments spent listening to mix tapes from that certain someone proliferated across teenage bedrooms. Sony seemed incapable of putting a foot wrong. It successfully moved the brand into compact discs with the Discman, then bought record labels and movie studios to bring about that illusory marriage of technology and content. When the digital revolution hit, Sony was too beholden to its proprietary formats, as well as to the inertia inside its media companies. Enter Apple and the iPod.

    PAGERS (BORN 1951) At first, pagers were attached to people who worked in fields where lives were on the line. That usually meant doctors, though the group expanded in the late 1980s to include drug dealers. Early beepers displayed only numbers, giving rise to a numerical lexicon that included codes like 911 (call me back immediately) and 07734, which resembles “hello” when read upside down. Pagers briefly gained fame in early 1990s hip-hop, showing up in songs like “Skypager,” by a Tribe Called Quest. The pager’s fall was attributable to the disruptive and destructive powers of another technology: the mobile phone. Why beep when you can talk? And a pager message is so tiny that it makes a tweet look like “The Iliad.” The beeper does live on, in limited circles: its network remains more reliable than cell networks, making it useful to E.M.S. and other rescue workers.

    PALM PILOT (1997-2007) Filofax brought personal organizers to their analog apogee in the early ’90s, but Palm brought them into the digital age. Palm Pilots were dazzling when they first appeared: all of your contacts, calendars and notes in one slim, pocket-size device. A touch screen, which required a stylus, made navigation easy. And you could add software, bought through an online store. Want a Zagat guide to go along with your personal data? No problem. In later years, Palm even added telephone features, creating a compelling, all-in-one gadget. Despite boardroom dramas that affected the company’s name and its ownership, Palm’s reputation as a source of innovative hardware and software endured until Jan. 9, 2007. Why that date? That’s when Apple introduced the iPhone.

    POLAROID INSTANT CAMERAS (1948-2008) Edwin Land’s invention of instant-developing film in 1948 put a darkroom inside a handheld camera. That achievement gave his Polaroid Corporation a distinct advantage over traditional film cameras. By 1980, Polaroid was selling 7.8 million cameras a year in the United States — more than half of all the 15 million cameras, instant and traditional, sold that year. In 1985, it won a major patent-infringement suit, forcing Kodak to abandon its own instant-camera efforts. The victory was short-lived. The late ’80s brought the rise of the digital camera. By 2000, digital cameras began appearing on cellphones, placing cameras in millions of pockets. Polaroid declared bankruptcy for the first time in 2001 and stopped making instant film in 2008. Kodak declared bankruptcy on Jan. 19.

    ATARI 2600 (1977-c.1984) It wasn’t the first game console, but the Atari 2600 brought video games into the home and popular culture. Over its life span, more than 30 million were sold. Pong, Combat, Pitfall and Frogger soaked up children’s afternoons. Then came the PC, which could play games and do much more. Atari rushed out games, assuming that its customers would play whatever it released. They didn’t. Millions of unsold games and consoles were buried in a New Mexico landfill in 1983. Warner Communications, which bought Atari in 1976 for $28 million, sold it in 1984 for no cash.
    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

  • #2
    Originally posted by xinhui View Post
    The road of progress is littered with the corpses of fallen titans. Objects that once seemed as indispensable as the companies that made them have been mercilessly superseded — as seen below. And Research in Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, ought to know: with mobile devices like the BlackBerry 957, it helped to extinguish the pager era.
    Here is some related news.

    Seven Technologies that Steve Jobs Killed
    The Eight Technologies That Steve Jobs Killed Yesterday | Cult of Mac

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by qnextt View Post
      Here is some related news.

      Seven Technologies that Steve Jobs Killed
      The Eight Technologies That Steve Jobs Killed Yesterday | Cult of Mac
      Is it seven or eight?

      And no Blackberry on that list from 2010 :)
      Last edited by Doktor; 12 Mar 12,, 13:09.
      No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

      To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

      Comment


      • #4
        Despite its technical prowess, another technology is being killed off - blue ray disc/DVD discs. With the advent of over the internet video streaming and on demand services, nobody wants to waste time going on a trip to blockbuster stores or such.

        Same thing with DVDs. I think the next generation of laptops would forgo integrated DVD drives and opt for external blue ray disc drives as an option. Thin lightweight is all the rage right now because of the iPad tablet phenomenon. For hard core gamers, laptops are not the way to go because of extensive cooling requirements. Even the best gaming laptops can't keep their graphic CPU from degrading after a couple months of hard core gaming. You would have to get a desktop for hard core gaming if you want it to last more than a couple months.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by xinhui View Post
          BlackBerry would keep the scraps — a small but dedicated following of corporate and government customers who want its proprietary messaging and security features.
          This one looks promising.

          Originally posted by xinhui View Post
          SONY WALKMAN (1979-2010) Before the Walkman, “personal audio” meant holding a transistor radio to your ear. Sony’s invention created an entire category of devices and helped make the company the technology leader of the 1980s. New models (Thinner! Auto-reverse!) were eagerly anticipated, the LP was relegated to the attic and tender moments spent listening to mix tapes from that certain someone proliferated across teenage bedrooms. Sony seemed incapable of putting a foot wrong. It successfully moved the brand into compact discs with the Discman, then bought record labels and movie studios to bring about that illusory marriage of technology and content. When the digital revolution hit, Sony was too beholden to its proprietary formats, as well as to the inertia inside its media companies. Enter Apple and the iPod.

          PAGERS (BORN 1951) At first, pagers were attached to people who worked in fields where lives were on the line. That usually meant doctors, though the group expanded in the late 1980s to include drug dealers. Early beepers displayed only numbers, giving rise to a numerical lexicon that included codes like 911 (call me back immediately) and 07734, which resembles “hello” when read upside down. Pagers briefly gained fame in early 1990s hip-hop, showing up in songs like “Skypager,” by a Tribe Called Quest. The pager’s fall was attributable to the disruptive and destructive powers of another technology: the mobile phone. Why beep when you can talk? And a pager message is so tiny that it makes a tweet look like “The Iliad.” The beeper does live on, in limited circles: its network remains more reliable than cell networks, making it useful to E.M.S. and other rescue workers.

          PALM PILOT (1997-2007) Filofax brought personal organizers to their analog apogee in the early ’90s, but Palm brought them into the digital age. Palm Pilots were dazzling when they first appeared: all of your contacts, calendars and notes in one slim, pocket-size device. A touch screen, which required a stylus, made navigation easy. And you could add software, bought through an online store. Want a Zagat guide to go along with your personal data? No problem. In later years, Palm even added telephone features, creating a compelling, all-in-one gadget. Despite boardroom dramas that affected the company’s name and its ownership, Palm’s reputation as a source of innovative hardware and software endured until Jan. 9, 2007. Why that date? That’s when Apple introduced the iPhone.

          POLAROID INSTANT CAMERAS (1948-2008) Edwin Land’s invention of instant-developing film in 1948 put a darkroom inside a handheld camera. That achievement gave his Polaroid Corporation a distinct advantage over traditional film cameras. By 1980, Polaroid was selling 7.8 million cameras a year in the United States — more than half of all the 15 million cameras, instant and traditional, sold that year. In 1985, it won a major patent-infringement suit, forcing Kodak to abandon its own instant-camera efforts. The victory was short-lived. The late ’80s brought the rise of the digital camera. By 2000, digital cameras began appearing on cellphones, placing cameras in millions of pockets. Polaroid declared bankruptcy for the first time in 2001 and stopped making instant film in 2008. Kodak declared bankruptcy on Jan. 19.

          ATARI 2600 (1977-c.1984) It wasn’t the first game console, but the Atari 2600 brought video games into the home and popular culture. Over its life span, more than 30 million were sold. Pong, Combat, Pitfall and Frogger soaked up children’s afternoons. Then came the PC, which could play games and do much more. Atari rushed out games, assuming that its customers would play whatever it released. They didn’t. Millions of unsold games and consoles were buried in a New Mexico landfill in 1983. Warner Communications, which bought Atari in 1976 for $28 million, sold it in 1984 for no cash.
          Mainframes still around in the world's banks and they ain't going no where.

          Comment


          • #6
            I absolutely HATE my Blackberry.

            Part of that is because the Army has disabled all of the useful functions. I basically can use it for phone calls and e-mail. But since we moved to the new DISA mail a lot of attachment snow get stripped off.

            I hate the GUI, the calendar function SUCKS, its a battery hog.....but I have to have it for work.

            Meanwhile, I carry an IPhone for everything else. Hell, they even disabled the wireless hotspot capability of the Blackberry.
            “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
            Mark Twain

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
              I absolutely HATE my Blackberry.

              Part of that is because the Army has disabled all of the useful functions. I basically can use it for phone calls and e-mail. But since we moved to the new DISA mail a lot of attachment snow get stripped off.

              I hate the GUI, the calendar function SUCKS, its a battery hog.....but I have to have it for work.

              Meanwhile, I carry an IPhone for everything else. Hell, they even disabled the wireless hotspot capability of the Blackberry.
              All the above times a thousand!!!!!!! My hztred for Blackberry and envy for those in the world who can have what type of phone they want grows daily!!!!

              Regards

              Arty
              "Admit nothing, deny everything, make counter-accusations".- Motto of the Gun Crew who have just done something incredibly stupid!!!!

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by ArtyEngineer View Post
                All the above times a thousand!!!!!!! My hztred for Blackberry and envy for those in the world who can have what type of phone they want grows daily!!!!

                Regards

                Arty
                Quit your whinning. Both of you. However bad the Blackberry is, it beats the rotary dial telephones, typewriter, the post office, and even the angels dreaded the 24-10.

                Comment


                • #9
                  (next the Colonel will yell at kids to get off his lawn)

                  Sir, that's okay.....step away from the technology.
                  “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                  Mark Twain

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I completely avoided the Palm Pilot and Blackberry craze (with a smug and satisfying smirk the entire time, I might add) and only just entered into the smart phone phase about a year ago with my HTC EVO.

                    Even now I marvel at the mountains of cash that I saved.
                    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                      I completely avoided the Palm Pilot and Blackberry craze (with a smug and satisfying smirk the entire time, I might add) and only just entered into the smart phone phase about a year ago with my HTC EVO.

                      Even now I marvel at the mountains of cash that I saved.
                      Fortunately I have never paid for the Blackberries....always were government issue.

                      I went from a 4 year old flip cell phone to an IPhone....bit of an upgrade!
                      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                      Mark Twain

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                        I went from a 4 year old flip cell phone to an IPhone....bit of an upgrade!
                        Ha! Same here...I tend to do that, buy into new technology after the 4th or 5th generation of something has come out.
                        “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                          I completely avoided the Palm Pilot and Blackberry craze (with a smug and satisfying smirk the entire time, I might add) and only just entered into the smart phone phase about a year ago with my HTC EVO.

                          Even now I marvel at the mountains of cash that I saved.
                          Same here, I had the lastest Motorola two way text pager in the 1990's - when I went to ATT - they gave me a one way pager and a cell phone. Then they took the cell phone away and asked me to buy one for them to use (with me paying). I declined. I have a trac phone and the same old pager still. If I needed a smart phone - it would be an android - screw apple and their over priced, offshored crap. I've been hearing from friends how bad the service is, that they hate the text spam they have to pay for - via their manditory i-tunes subscription and how they're changing to androids and taking the hit on the apple contract. I personally don't need another expensive device with a monthly bill.
                          sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
                          If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by USSWisconsin View Post
                            Same here, I had the lastest Motorola two way text pager in the 1990's - when I went to ATT - they gave me a one way pager and a cell phone. Then they took the cell phone away and asked me to buy one for them to use (with me paying). I declined. I have a trac phone and the same old pager still. If I needed a smart phone - it would be an android - screw apple and their over priced, offshored crap. I've been hearing from friends how bad the service is, that they hate the text spam they have to pay for - via their manditory i-tunes subscription and how they're changing to androids and taking the hit on the apple contract. I personally don't need another expensive device with a monthly bill.
                            I love my iPhone. I had a 3G iPhone for a while and then switched to HTC Thunderbolt Android. After a week, I switched back to iPhone 4 even though it was slower than the Thunderbold. It was just that the IPhone is very well designed and gives minimum fuss while Android gives too much crap and headaches to deal with.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Odd, I never thought people that are older theen me would hype over Apple :)

                              Anyway, I am happy with my Nokia, gonna wait for Windows mobile 3rd generation before decision if to migrate to Apple or staying to Nokia

                              I mean, after all I still have the green and the red button, alarm, wi-fi and bluetooth.
                              No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

                              To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

                              Comment

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