When Research In Motion Ltd announced that its messenger service would be made available to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Android smartphones, many were disappointed with the decision.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit in Toronto, BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis talked about the decision as well as how he thinks it will work out in the long run with Apple Inc. iPhone users.
“BBM is by far the most compelling wireless experience and wireless social-networking environment.”
It is interesting to see that Lazaridis is so confident in the new service. That being said, he has reason to be with the current service attracting more than 60 million Research In Motion Ltd BlackBerry customers. Even more so, more than 10 billion messages are sent via the service every day.
What is the problem? Here is why some people think this is a bad idea: BlackBerry is giving up sole control over one of its only competitive advantages. Now, you don’t have to be a BlackBerry user to take advantage of the service. Instead, those with an Apple Inc. iPhone or Android device can do the same.
Additionally, there are questions as to how Research In Motion Ltd BlackBerry plans on making money with the new application.
Lazaridis went on to note that the company feels good about its changes to attract users who are not currently relying on a BlackBerry device. He added the following, regarding CEO Thorsten Heins:
“He’s speaking to the confidence he has in the platform. Not only is BlackBerry back in a big way with BB10, he’s also showing he can expand that vision to other platforms.”
There is no denying the fact that this is a gamble for Research In Motion Ltd. Whether or not Apple Inc. iPhone users get on board in big numbers is yet to be seen.
It will not be long before we have a better idea of whether or not CEO Thorsten Heins made a good decision. What are your thoughts on this?
