Dear RIM, Could You Please Stop Shooting Yourself in the Foot?

As Google and Apple have blown past RIM in terms of application development by the community and adoption by users, the Waterloo-based smartphone manufacturer has been trying to play catch up. They have been trying to position themselves as a much more developer friendly platform with a set of tools and features to court the community to choose them over their rivals Apple and Google.

Located amongst the vast array of RIM buildings scattered across Waterloo is the Accelerator Centre, a world-class incubator home to many early stage start up companies looking to become the next RIM. Located in the Centre is the small but hard working start-up Kik, a cross-platform, real-time messaging service much like that of RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger. I knew these guys were up to something big when I would see the team working well into the night in February often coding until 3 or 4 am. Sure enough, they’ve been able to connect with users to the tune of zero to a million in 15 days since re-launching in October. A cross-platform styled BBM only makes sense. I, like many smartphone users don’t just have friends who all own a BlackBerry or all own an iPhone. BBM is great if all your friends are on a BlackBerry, but reality quickly settles in that they all aren’t. Kik, was a great example of a start-up trying to bridge the growing fragmentation occurring in the smartphone market, while doing it well. Heck, they had to fly extra servers to Idaho just to ensure their service wouldn’t crash.

Then late last week this happened, as told by CEO Ted Livingston

Early Friday morning, I awoke to a deeply dismaying and wholly unexpected message from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM). It boils down to this: RIM is kicking BlackBerry users off Kik.

Kik had already been excluded from BlackBerry App World, so no new Kik downloads have been possible for BlackBerry users. But now RIM has shut down “push” access; as a result, messages to BlackBerry users will be delayed by up to an hour. RIM has also now removed access to the BlackBerry Software Development Kit and Signing Keys, so any future development is frozen.

On behalf of our nearly one million Kik users on Blackberry devices, we truly hope RIM reverses these steps.

What ever happened to RIM trying to court the developer community? As I mentioned in a previous post, last year I heard a RIM executive loudly boast about their win-win mentality with the outside world (carriers, developers) while their foes (Apple) plays by a win-lose mentality. So is booting Kik from the App World without an explanation a win-win mentality?

It’s time for RIM to make up it’s mind.

Are you going to let developers play in the sandbox or not? If you’re so concerned that an app made across the street by a team of 10 or so employees has gained more market traction then BBM, I fear you have bigger problems on the horizon.

UPDATE: RIM releases official statement on their issue with Kik.

The PlayBook Launches, RIM Plays Catch Up

I’ve pondered this post for a while, but now that the BlackBerry BlackPad PlayBook has been revealed, I think it’s time to weigh in on the device and it’s entrance into the market. After all, by spending the better part of my last year in Waterloo (RIM’s hometown for those who don’t know) I’ve had countless discussions with people regarding RIM’s current product lineup and the potential success of a tablet device.

RIM’s PlayBook Motivations

Back in late 2009, I had the opportunity to listen to one high ranking RIM executive who loudly trounced Apple’s win-lose mentality with the carriers (compared to RIM’s win-win philosophy), the fact that Apple is killing the developer community because he believed the developers had few ways to earn a decent dollar,  his insistence on the fact that applications were more fad then anything (even though BlackBerry Messenger, RIM’s darling of their current advertising campaign is an application), and that in all likelihood to maintain growth and shareholder value at some point RIM would have to introduce new products and diversify. Well that day has finally arrived.

With all this talk about a potential tablet device for the past few months, it’s interesting to look back on that conversation and realize the thought process that has been going on internally at Canada’s leading technology firm. Many of the topics stemming from that conversation concerned me at the time, and one could easily see the miscues RIM had made and were going to make. Hopefully, the PlayBook changes that, but there’s more to the onion then just releasing a tablet device.

“All of Our Enterprise Customers Will Love the PlayBook!”

Resting on your laurels is one of the worst strategic decisions a company can make. The North American automotive industry is the first that comes to mind. Keep building big, gas guzzling vehicles that lacks intelligent design and you’ll eventually lose. Not everyone wants a minivan or a Hummer….and not everyone is willing to buy two!

Now I’m not saying RIM is the next GM, but assuming that all of your enterprise customers will purchase the PlayBook is a terrible assumption, and could prove to be a fatal mistake. While the details are still evolving as to just what the balance will be between consumer and enterprise on the device, there’s no doubt RIM will try to play up it’s ties with it’s enterprise customers. We already know there will be some sort of bluetooth connectivity to your BlackBerry, but what’s the logical connection? I can see several great uses for a mobile sales force, the FedEx’s of the world, and even in medical facilities. Beyond that there needs to be compelling and well built integrated applications to unlock the true power of the PlayBook. For that RIM needs to begin to take the developer community seriously, which brings me to my next point.

The Industry PlayBook Indicates that It’s the Ecosystem That Matters!

While the initial impression of the tech specs on the PlayBook look impressive, it’s not that only factor that is going to win over buyers. One aspect RIM has largely ignored since the rise of Apple and Google entered the smartphone market is the importance of the ecosystem. Whether or not you enjoy the walled garden approach Apple has taken with the App Store it simply works. More importantly, both Apple and Google have courted developers to build products in their sandbox before even considering jumping into it with RIM. Building applications for a BlackBerry is a headache and nightmare. For instance, here’s the experience @lborsato had while trying to build his latest application. Pretty dreadful and there are countless others. If RIM wants the PlayBook to garner as much success as their early BlackBerry devices did, they need to win over the developer community. The success of the PlayBook will largely depend on the success of the applications that are built on it, and for that they need to unlock the power of the developer community.

Early Signs of Potential

Talk to anyone who owns a BlackBerry and they’ll rave about BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM as it’s commonly referred to. It’s finally prominent in BlackBerry marketing campaigns and for good reason, people are hooked on it. To me, it’s always seemed like a glorified instant messenger on a phone, to BBMer’s it’s apparently a way of life. While it’s not specific to the release of the PlayBook, RIM finally seems to understand the importance of what it does well, and is going to try to leverage the social network BBM has created. With the new BBM social platform, developers will be able to build applications that connect with BBM to enhance the power of the connections you already have. If it’s done properly, developers could really have some fun with this and that would be a good thing for the success of the PlayBook. In fact, that may be one of the most significant facts to come out of the announcements yesterday. Unlike my conversation a few months back, RIM is now taking applications and the development community seriously, and for the future success of RIM, it’s about time!

Why RIM Needs the PlayBook to Succeed

Not only is the recent announcement of the Torch and PlayBook important to fend off the growing number of critics but it’s vitally important for Canada. RIM must compete, and not just compete to be in the game. They must compete to WIN. There’s a reason why Waterloo has become the technology hub for Canadian entrepreneurs. While the University of Waterloo and Laurier are strong anchors in the city enhancing the intellectual capacity of young and old, RIM has created an ecosystem of future entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts that has put Waterloo and Canada in the conversation of global innovation hubs.

RIM simply cannot end up like Nortel and Canada can’t afford to have it happen.

My only question is why is this launching in Q2 of 2011, a full year after the iPad, and after the crucial Christmas shopping season?

Thoughts? Let me know your take on the new PlayBook and RIM’s recent announcements in the comments section.