BlackBerry Hits '0%' Market Share Nearly Ten Years After iPhone Launched

[Shirasaki]

It still is a toy; where's the file system?

Also, Game and Entertainment app category are two main categories people use iOS apps. Productivity apps are still in simple level. Few have advanced features.

I also find iOS cannot do a lot of stuff I could do on computer.

Apple device could play game happily thanks to the "most powerful graphics card" though. A lot less hassle than android devices.

 

[sunwukong]

I think its more accurate to say how a market leader can easily mismanage its position to oblivion.

Apple should take note. They are not immune. They've contracted the potentially terminal disease before.

 

[raghu8912]

So iOS has 15% market share, in this article. Android has 82% market share, as mentioned in this article.

And, mentioned in this article, apple phone 'took down' blackberry? Looks to me like android took down blackberry.

Android didn't exist when Apple released it's iPhone, article says Apple revolutionized smart phone & BB couldn't catch up with Apple.
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And yet... Blackberries have been replaced by Android phones and iPhones... even in business.

Business is being conducted around the world... including calls and email... and almost all of it is being done on devices that are not Blackberries. So what does that say?

I'm not here to change your mind about Blackberries giving the best experience for calls and email. That's certainly your opinion.

But that opinion doesn't appear to be shared by many other people.

If it was... Blackberry would still be selling tens of millions of units per month.

I had 2 BB phones with physical keyboard, i can type faster on touch screen phones than physical keyboard.

 

[rams]

i don't know how accurate this statistic is. i see much more windows phones than 0.3%. However blackberry is pretty much dead - this i can confirm

 

[peterdevries]

RIM is the poster-child for corporate arrogance, complacency, and failure to recognize a competitive threat. They will be discussed in business school for generations to come.

No. Kodak is a much better example. They actually had developed next generation technology (digital camera) and decided to shelf it because it was a threat to their camera film business.

Blackberry is not mentioned as often in business schools as one would think.

 

[Michael Scrip]

i don't know how accurate this statistic is.

i see much more windows phones than 0.3%.

0.3% is "market share" which is the percentage of ALL smartphones sold last quarter that were Windows Phones.

That's an entirely different number than "installed base" which is the Windows Phones you may see out in the world.

 

[Solomani]

BlackBerry has a rounded 0.0% market share today….. but just you wait, all you frothing Apple fanboys, BlackBerry will surely announce a brand new iPhone-killer model next month. You will then quake in your boots, Apple!

 

[MH01]

I guess this is a great statistic to show how impactful the iPhone was and still is.

So very true, it has huge impacts on the way we perceived and interacted with phones. At the same time this shows how android mugged apple at the same time.

 

[Abazigal]

Yes, managing files with iOS a lot like eating peas -- with one chopstick.

I dunno. I find I have come to like my files being silo'ed by app on iOS, to the point where I am sometimes annoyed that the same doesn't happen on my Mac. For example, I like being able to open iWork's and immediately see all my files. And then I open office on my Mac and have to navigate a deep hierarchy of folders just to locate the file I need? Irritating, so say the least.

BlackBerry has a rounded 0.0% market share today….. but just you wait, all you frothing Apple fanboys, BlackBerry will surely announce a brand new iPhone-killer model next month. You will then quake in your boots, Apple!

From laughing too hard, no doubt.

 

[BvizioN]

You should have compared Andorids market share to IOS before posting.
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Don't let facts like those get in the way of Apple fanboys.

Blackberry was a phone maker (Now focused on software or whatever)
Apple is a phone maker
Android is not a phone maker.....it is an open operating system that is used from a top smartphones to the very cheapest one you can get from the corner shop. Way to compare Apple's with Oranges.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Blackberry was a phone maker (Now focused on software or whatever)
Apple is a phone maker
Android is not a phone maker.....it is an open operating system that is used from a top smartphones to the very cheapest one you can get from the corner shop. Way to compare Apple's with Oranges.

Exactly.

Android was a whole different thing than what Apple was doing.

Google made Android available to anyone (literally anyone) who wanted to build a smartphone. All makes, models, prices, etc.

It's not dissimilar to what Microsoft did with Windows.

But Apple is... and has (almost, clones) always been... the exclusive vendor of iOS devices and MacOS computers.

So it's kinda hard to compare Apple to anyone else in that regard.

The closest thing is (was) Blackberry... makers of their own OS and hardware.

But... ummm... that's done.

 

[stolzyboy]

Good Lord, the Storm2 was a terrible phone! I had one as my first smartphone. The clicky touchscreen was awful. Full of scratches and felt like there was dust and crumbs stuck under it. Then of course the camera stopped working after I'd had it for a year or so, and then the whole thing bricked when it was just over two years old. I was downloading the BB News app, and it whitescreened. Plus they left it stuck on BB 5 and didn't let it update to anything newer. I had that thing for two years. I've had my iPhone 5 for over four years now.

I never had problems with the screen. The OS was bad due to it not being touch-centric. The only thing I liked was the click screen. The original storm that had only one button under the screen didn't work well but when they went to the four it worked very well. I could type like a madman on that thing. Though, I use Swype now so I'm not sure I could go back to "typing".

 

[maflynn]

Apple should take note. They are not immune. They've contracted the potentially terminal disease before.

It was arrogance on RIM's part that brought them down, so it could easily happen to Apple.

 

[MacBH928]

A dominant company that no one saw losing its position in the mobile market, comes down to 0% due to arrogance and not responding to customer wants/needs?

hmmmm...reminds you of any one Tim?

 

[Abazigal]

A dominant company that no one saw losing its position in the mobile market, comes down to 0% due to arrogance and not responding to customer wants/needs?

hmmmm...reminds you of any one Tim?

Does this seem like a company who doesn't respond to the needs of its consumers?

The iPhone installed base has grown by 500M users.
The iPad installed base has grown by 175M users.
The Mac installed base has grown by 50M users.
Apple introduced Apple Watch, the company's first wearable product. Approximately 18M Apple Watches, a device positioned as an iPhone accessory, have been sold to date.
Apple is earning more than $6B per year of revenue through app sales via the App Store.
Apple successfully made the difficult jump from a paid music download model to streaming and is approaching 20M paying Apple Music subscribers.
Apple continues to push forward with Apple TV. The company is approaching 10M units sold since the device was updated in 2015.
Apple continues to develop key services including Apple Pay, Messages, and Maps.

Maybe Apple doesn't respond to your needs, but that is wholly different from not meeting the needs of its user base in general. Apple certainly meets mine superbly, for one.

We are only just starting to witness Apple ascent. All the way to the top.

 

[Juicy Box]

A dominant company that no one saw losing its position in the mobile market, comes down to 0% due to arrogance and not responding to customer wants/needs?

hmmmm...reminds you of any one Tim?

Does this seem like a company who doesn't respond to the needs of its consumers?

Short answer, I think so.

The recent iPhone is a good example. The iPhone 7 was a mediocre update, and to get all the best features, you need to get the plus.

Also, if some of the rumors end up being correct about the next iPhone being an iPhone 7s, it would basically be a 4th generation of the iPhone 6. Or the iPhone 6sss if Apple was being honest.

This is just one of many other examples, and also just my humble opinion on the matter.

 

[Abazigal]

Short answer, I think so.

The recent iPhone is a good example. The iPhone 7 was a mediocre update, and to get all the best features, you need to get the plus.

Also, if some of the rumors end up being correct about the next iPhone being an iPhone 7s, it would basically be a 4th generation of the iPhone 6. Or the iPhone 6sss if Apple was being honest.

This is just one of many other examples, and also just my humble opinion on the matter.

Could it not be argued that Blackberry failed precisely because they followed the wishes of power users and enthusiasts instead of making a product that appealed to as many people as possible? My understanding of the Blackberry was that it was basically a pain to use, and people tolerated it because of the benefits it afforded (email and texting). So the moment a better alternative presented itself, people started abandoning it in droves.

And ironically, the people here are criticising Apple for doing precisely that. So I think Apple will do just fine.

 

[iMi]

RIM is the poster-child for corporate arrogance, complacency, and failure to recognize a competitive threat. They will be discussed in business school for generations to come.

As will be the case with Apple. Talk about arrogance and complacency.
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I guess this is a great statistic to show how impactful the iPhone was and still is.

Really? I thought the chart showed just how impactful and versatile Android is. Absolute dominance.

 

[Appleaker]

As will be the case with Apple. Talk about arrogance and complacency.
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Really? I thought the chart showed just how impactful and versatile Android is. Absolute dominance.

Firstly, Blackberry make Android phones - this is not about operating system it's about manufacturer.
But more importantly Android has been shaped by the iPhone. Like I said before, if there was no iPhone it's possible that Android would have essentially wiped out Blackberry, but it's also possible that they wouldn't. Who knows?

 

[QuickDraw]

Without looking at the exec/management decision angle,
From a pure technology standpoint BB was caught in 2009 with an OS that wasn't capable of
keeping up with iOS and Android. At the end of the 2008 mobile OSes were poor. BlackBerry OS 5/6, WinMobile, Symbian variants like UIQ and S60/S80. All garbage to work with. PalmOS was dead, and Palm tried to reinvent themselves with the Foleo(anyone remember that?) and then with WebOS, unfortunately too late. Linux mobile Os'es like Maemo never took off.

At the time BlackBerrry realized(after they tried with the Storm) they couldn't just slap on touch UI on their aging OS, they were in a difficult spot. They didn't have in house expertise to spin up a new OS. That would have had to be started years earlier. In 2010 RIM acquired QNX to get them a new OS(BB10), and TAT for its UI layer on top.

That, imo, was a great move, but it didn't scale fast enough for numerous reasons and was a massive undertaking, unfortunately too late. There were a few poor technology decisions along the way (e.g. Playbook OS with Adobe Flash as front end, thinking an android runtime without googlePlay will solve their app eco-system) and they couldn't keep key tech talent at the highest level. Add to that, not letting go of the pysical keyboard, thinking that BBM is the best thing since sliced bread, and trying to differentiate themselves at all costs (Passport), and here we are in 2017.

Of course hindsight is always 20/20...

 

[sofila]

And in two months they will do what's considered impossible: Have a negative Market Share, let's say -10% !!!

We've already seen something like "110% share of profits" in here, just wait

 

[leroypants]

Blackberry was a phone maker (Now focused on software or whatever)
Apple is a phone maker
Android is not a phone maker.....it is an open operating system that is used from a top smartphones to the very cheapest one you can get from the corner shop. Way to compare Apple's with Oranges.

Cool fanboy deflections, however the article is about market share so if anyone is responsible for Blackberrys loss in market share it would probably be due to Android with its over 80% of the market instead of Apples 18%.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Also, Game and Entertainment app category are two main categories people use iOS apps. Productivity apps are still in simple level. Few have advanced features.

I also find iOS cannot do a lot of stuff I could do on computer.

Apple device could play game happily thanks to the "most powerful graphics card" though. A lot less hassle than android devices.

Then explain to me why many large business don't allow Android user to VPN into their network, even when the tools to do it are available? I'll help you: Because Android is unsafe. Unless proven otherwise, it's a security risk.

Your reply above shows you still have a lot to learn about the iPad. There are enough productivity tools for several trades.
Many people complain about the lack of a File System. Well, why you need it anymore? Your files get stored in iCloud, and you can access them from all your devices. Sure, there's room for improvement, but what available serves its purpose.

Anyway, I'm not trying to start an argument about iOS vs Android, but I do know a lot of people doing a lot of work on their iPad. Just walk into a Starbucks and count how many people are using an Android tablet and how many are using an iPad.

 

[cube]

Then explain to me why many large business don't allow Android user to VPN into their network, even when the tools to do it are available? I'll help you: Because Android is unsafe. Unless proven otherwise, it's a security risk.

In the enterprise, you can split a BB10 phone into completely separate business and personal domains.

I understand BlackBerry has something similar for Android, but that cannot be as hardened.

 

[fischersd]

The next day Mr. Lazaridis grabbed his co-CEO Jim Balsillie at the office and pulled him in front of a computer.

"Jim, I want you to watch this," he said, pointing to a webcast of the iPhone unveiling. "They put a full Web browser on that thing. The carriers aren’t letting us put a full browser on our products."

Mr. Balsillie’s first thought was RIM was losing AT&T as a customer.

"Apple’s got a better deal," Mr. Balsillie said. "We were never allowed that. The U.S. market is going to be tougher."

"These guys are really, really good," Mr. Lazaridis replied. "This is different."

"It’s OK—we’ll be fine," Mr. Balsillie responded.

You're pulling quotes from the book?! Absolutely sickens me how Mike re-wrote history with that thing. Complete fiction. Everyone was trying to get Mike to take Apple seriously.

RIM failed because of the runaway ego's of their co-CEO's.

"The killer app is the phone"
"The market doesn't know what they want...we'll tell them what they want"

There were those in the company that wanted to move from the JVM platform that we had to a more robust OS (like QNX) earlier...but the execs simply wouldn't make it a priority...until it was too late to catch up.

Even before that though, there were the developer relations guys, pleading every chance they could get for a decent SDK.

I really hope the QNX company survives. A lot of people don't realized that Car Play and Android Auto actually run ON TOP of QNX.