Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY): How BlackBerry Decided to Beat Apple Inc. (AAPL)

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In the interview, Heins quips, “History repeats itself again I guess … the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly. The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about, is now five years old.”

If history does, in fact, repeat itself, then you probably don’t have to say “again.” But that’s being nitpicky.

Again, I think Heins is more or less accurate in his description of the iPhone’s product cycle. The market has realized this, too, if a little damningly, revaluing the company from super-growth market darling to technological laggard. Still, we haven’t seen any usable proof that the BB10 platform and accompanying handsets are leaps and bounds beyond your iDevice. Specifically, Heins highlighted Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)’s superiority in multitasking, an area where the iPhone has struggled over the years. It turns out people do need to Google something while 3-way FaceTiming and listening to the latest David Bowie album. The new BlackBerry, we pray, accommodates these attention-deprived needs.

Is BlackBerry actually fantastic and we just don’t know yet? The company’s earnings report comes out on March 28, and you can bet every bull and bear will be digesting the data immediately, and with 10,000 different interpretations.

Buy, sell, or hold?
According to Prem Watsa, the aforementioned Canadian superinvestor whom many equate to Warren Buffett and who owns nearly 10% of the company, BlackBerry is still a long way from its potential. He has often said that this turnaround will take three to five years, if not more. Going by that timeline, this may not be BlackBerry’s phoenix moment but more market speculation.

I loved the company at $7 per share, and I am cautiously optimistic at $15, but I would wait and see if the earnings report can shed some light any light — on what is happening at the mysterious fortress of forgotten technology that is Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)’s Waterloo headquarters.

The article How BlackBerry Decided to Beat Apple originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Michael Lewis.

Fool contributor Michael Lewis has no position in any stocks mentioned. Follow him on Twitter @MikeyLewy. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple.

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