RIM CEO: We’re Not Leaving the Consumer Business

ORLANDO — Thorsten Heins, the CEO of Research In Motion, today clarified comments he made weeks ago about RIM refocusing on the enterprise market, saying the company was not leaving the consumer business behind.
Heins said what he meant was the company needed to eliminate some services the company was doing in-house, and instead achieve those consumer-based goals with partnerships rather than going it alone. While enterprise is still RIM’s core strength, Heins said the company would continue to market and sell devices and services to the consumer segment.
Heins also unequivocally contradicted reports that RIM was abandoning physical keyboards on phones, a traditional RIM strength. Saying BlackBerrys had the best physical keyboards on the planet, Heins 100% confirmed there will be a BlackBerry 10 device with a keyboard when the new platform debuts this fall.
He wouldn’t say whether or not there would be a new tablet when BlackBerry 10 devices arrive, but he did say that if RIM creates a new tablet, it would be marketed to enterprise customers first, with a consumer play later, if at all. Broadly, Heins sees tablets as an “on-ramp” to mobile computing.
Heins also spoke about his philosophies and RIM’s approach to the market.
“We spend a lot of time on who are we mostly talking to, who is the target customer,” he said. “The common denominator with all our customers is that they are striving to succeed.”
Heins said “success” didn’t necessarily mean in business. It could also be personal, but the main challenge that they all have is managing their relationships.

“What do I need to succeed?” Heins said RIM’s customers are asking. “How do I manage all these connections and communications channels? I’m creating them with relationships, but i’m now subject to them as well.”
To Heins, the answer to those questions is BlackBerry 10. Heins emphasized the benefits and abilities the new OS, which has “real-time” multitasking, with apps that don’t stop or pause when they’re in the background.
Between now and then, though, Heins provided little guidance for customers. He said RIM would continue to develop and support BlackBerry 7 (the OS on current RIM devices, except the PlayBook tablet), but he was unspecific when asked about what sort of upgrade path there might be for BB7 customers.
What do you think of Heins’s comments? Is it the right strategy, or does it need adjustment? Have your say in the comments.

12:37 by Robert dawne · 0

RIM Co-CEOs Are Out, Heins Is In

Following weeks of speculation, it appears Research in Motion (RIM) is finally ready to oust Co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis. The two are, according to a press release from RIM, stepping aside on Monday and will be replaced by company insider and former COO Thorsten Heins.
Heins, who also joins the company’s board, is already listed as President and CEO on RIM’s executive bios page. The change in leadership may have come at the behest of Lazaridis who explained in a statement, “There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership. Jim [Balsillie] and I went to the Board and told them that we thought that time was now.”
The move comes after a solid year of miscues and blunders by Balsillie and Lazaridis. 2011 got off to a promising start with the introduction of the Playbook tablets, but RIM bungled the launch, leaving out key features like a native e-mail client. Later in the year the company announced the name for a new combined OS only to learn they didn’t have rights to the name. The company also suffered through an extended service outage and took what some believe was too long to respond directly to customers about the situation.
The company has also steadily slipped down the ladder in smartphone market share as Android competitors and Apple released more and more innovative and well-received handsets. The calls for RIM to replace its co-CEOs have been growing steadily, even as RIM gets its house in order. Just this month, the company finally unveiled Playbook OS 2.0 which does feature its own email client. Now the question is what Heins can do to return the Canadian technology company to the front of the mobile technology pack.

What do you think? Did RIM make the right move? If so, did it make it soon enough? Share your take in the comments.
Mashable

20:38 by Robert dawne · 0