The New York Times ran an article bashing RIM for its failure to compete with iPhone and Android, even saying that many BlackBerry owners are “ashamed” to bring their device out in public. As expected, loyal CrackBerry addicts reacted using hashtags #ProudToBeTeamBlackBerry and #BB10believe to express their support for the Canadian company and its products.
RIM’s CEO Thorsten Heins also joined the fray, writing a letter to the publication. He was complaining about the lack of balance in the article, adding that BlackBerry has millions of loyal customers and that the company is looking forward to win back many who left. Here’s the contents of the letter and you be the judge whether he has a point or not. 😉
BlackBerry as Black Sheep in Smartphones” (Business Day, Oct. 16) lacks the balance your readers expect.
With more than 80 million customers globally, BlackBerry is growing and remains one of the world’s most popular smartphones. I’ve just come from visiting carriers and partners in all parts of the world, and they have told me that there are millions of BlackBerry fans out there who not only find great value in their device, but also pride in being a BlackBerry owner.
While any report of dissatisfaction among our users is a cause for concern that I take very seriously, the comments supporting BlackBerry both online and in calls we’ve received from our customers in response to your article are encouraging to me.
BlackBerry remains the leader in providing security for corporate customers, which is why more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500 rely on BlackBerry. It’s true that some companies put restrictions on accessing certain applications for security reasons, but applications like Yelp and OpenTable are, in fact, among the approximately 100,000 apps available in BlackBerry AppWorld.
We’ve received excellent feedback from carriers, developers and partners for our upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform and are on track to deliver it in the first quarter of 2013. We appreciate the customers who have remained loyal to the BlackBerry platform and look forward to winning back many who have left.
THORSTEN HEINS
President and Chief Executive
Research In Motion
Waterloo, Ontario, Oct. 16, 2012