[Infowarrior] - RIM going keyboardless

[Richard Forno]

If that's the case, my next phone in all likelihood will be the JesusPhone.  The physical keyboard was the primary reason I went with a Crackberry to begin with.  --- rick


RIM CEO Bets on BlackBerry Without Keyboard to Challenge Apple

By Hugo Miller - May 1, 2012

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-05-02/rim-ceo-bets-on-blackberry-without-keyboard-to-challenge-apple.html

When Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins unveiled a prototype of the new BlackBerry 10 phone yesterday, it lacked a feature that has kept legions of users loyal to the platform: a physical keyboard.

At the BlackBerry World expo in Orlando, Florida, he showed off a sleek touch-screen device that more closely resembled an iPhone or Android smartphone than the keypad-equipped BlackBerrys of old. While RIM still plans to produce models with keyboards, the demonstration was the biggest signal yet that the company was shifting to a touch-screen world.

RIM, which is counting on its redesigned BlackBerry 10 lineup to reverse a sales slump, faces a quandary. Smartphone users have embraced virtual keyboards, evidenced by Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG) accounting for more than 80 percent of the market. Even so, taking away RIM’s physical keypad removes a feature that distinguishes it from the competition.

“Some will lament it, but others will embrace it,” said Nigel Hughes, a vice president in charge of sales at Ashburn, Virginia-based SteelCloud Inc., which builds BlackBerry- compatible security software and hardware for customers such as the Department of Defense. “It’s a recognition that the future is without a keyboard.”

< - >

Scrapping the physical keyboard from the initial BlackBerry 10 device will put it in closer competition with the iPhone and Android models, such as the Samsung Galaxy S. That could be tough for RIM, said Stephen Beck, a managing partner at the technology consulting firm CG42 LLC in Wilton, Connecticut.

“If you’re forcing a migration to non-keyboard, you’re going to get people asking, ‘What’s the best of breed of those devices?’” Beck said. “Given the momentum of iPhone and Android, that’s going to be a tough argument for RIM to win.”

Michael Clewley, director of handheld software product management at RIM, reassured BlackBerry World attendees that the company will eventually offer something for everyone with the BlackBerry 10 operating system. That may include slide-out keyboards, as well as traditional keypads.

“RIM has always had a wide range of devices,” he said yesterday. “We’re dedicated to having a form factor that fits your needs.”


---
Just because i'm near the punchbowl doesn't mean I'm also drinking from it.