The Future of RIM: Is There a Possibility for RIM to Take Back Their Lost Territory?

       
          It's crazy to think that at one point (from a galaxy not so far away), RIM and it's line of BlackBerry phones were so culturally pervasive that it the term "crackberry" became the Merriam-Webster's 2006 word of the year. This term, referring to the constant - and almost addiction driven - need for BlackBerry users to incessantly check their phones. In fact, I once had a professor and former Vice Dean of the Business School admit to sleeping with her BlackBerry on her pillow! So what happened? One year ago, RIM was valued at $29.4 billion, but currently is only a mere $7.3 billion, resulting in a whopping $22.1 BILLION dollar loss.
          In order to forecast the future outlook of RIM, we must first delve into its past success. What made RIM in early 2000 so much more successful than the RIM of 2012? Well, for starters, BlackBerry phones appealed to businessmen and women, as it was the first device that successfully enabled users to portably check and answer e-mails on the go. This, coupled with its ergonomic keyboard, facilitated an amazing competitive advantage compared to other phones. However, as technology improved, and other phones (iPhone, Android, Windows, etc) excelled at not only implementing excellent email features but also creating new cutting edge value-added services (Appstore, Market, etc), RIM and Blackberry lost its initial prominence. Thus, here in lies, RIM's biggest hamartia: Technology in and of itself, is not a competitive advantage. It is only when this technology evolves to meet ever-changing customer demand does it serve as an effective corporate strategy. RIM failed to do this. Instead, it relied on an aging technological advantage and its first mover advantage while simultaneously failing to meet what competitors were offering. Thus, the once loyal and avid Crackberry fans were asking themselves: why am I still using a BlackBerry, when an iPhone/Android offers me more?
          Now, people may say, but wait! There's a new BlackBerry 10 soon to be released, and that's great. However, I doubt this new phone will completely flip BlackBerry's current position 360 degrees. As I stated previously, it's a little too late. Once BlackBerry users are converted to iPhones/Androids, unless completely upset and unsatisfied, it will be extremely difficult to get those customers back. Furthermore, BlackBerry's Market is no where near on par to Apple's App Store or Android's Google Play. BlackBerry simply does not offer as much, as seamlessly.
          So what then is the future? As many other sources have predicted, I agree that the best direction for RIM is to merge with Microsoft. Like it did with Nokia, Microsoft will be able to use RIM's software and hardware to facilitate the sales of Windows phones (which are known to be cutting edge and present a formidable opponent to the cellphone market). RIM can be assured that is merger will be secure because, let's face it, it'll take quite a long while for the cash flows of Microsoft to bleed out.