Alan - neither their actions nor their words seem are the magic bullet that will: (1) keep existing customers from defecting who are doing so at an accelerated rate, or: offer a compelling reason to (2) recapture previous customers who have switched or (3) capture new customers.

Rim's traditional customer base was always too narrow to sustain the company in the long. "Blackberry People" found the proprietary and unimaginative product(s) was no longer helping them "get things done" and have moved on while Blackberry continues to look inside vs. out for inspiration.

Hi Barbara Krafte,

Well, Nokia still sells Symbian 40 and 60 phones, but for the most part, it's better the future of the company on Windows Phone 8, just as RIM is betting its future on BlackBerry 10 and will continue to BlackBerry 7 phones.

One of Nokia's major problems was it placed so many bets -- at least, it engaged in so many research projects and prototype phones -- that it didn't focus on a smaller group of products. Actually, I've always applauded Nokia for how it conducted so much research all over the world and looked at so many lifestyes. 

Unfortunately, Nokia wasn't able to translate its research into enough major hits. And everyone who's seen MeeGo has been sad that it wasn't integrated to a large number of  handsets. Alas, like webOS, MeeGo didn't quite get its act together.

Also, both Nokia and RIM had enormous problems with bureaucracy that stifled and delayed new products. And both companies were arrogant about the superiority of their operating system(s) and the quality of their research.

Hi Barbara Krafte,

Yes, it does seem that RIM's executives are talking more about its traditional customer base of enterprises and "BlackBerry People" who "want to get things done," rather than waxing enthusiastically about how the new phones, OS and applications will capture many new customers.

It seems that RIM wants to, (1) keep existing customers from defectiong, (2) recapture previous customers who have switched and then (3) capture new customers. Of course, RIM wants all three of those categories, but I suspect that's the order of importance that RIM's looking at.

I certainly agree that once an enterprise has switched from RIM, especially large enterprises -- and gone through all the expense, support and other hassles -- there's little chance it will switch back.

Alan – sorry for the delayed reply.

Nokia certainly was a victim of its own arrogance and stumbled. Unlike RIM it never put all its bets down on the same horse. RIM isn't stumbling, it's spiraling. And the fact that it continues to be blinded by what it once was without a vision going forward points to the difference between the two companies.

Alan -

The sign of a terminally flawed company is desperation and "desperately wanting to maintain" vs. broaden its current user base is telltale. The company, whose CEO's recent comments demonstrate utter denial of their situation, is delusional if it thinks one new product – particularly an extension of a currently obsolesced one – no matter how compelling the new technology - will transform RIM into a consumer company.

But the reality is that customer defections are bleeding the company. The list is long and painful from the recent Federal agency announcements - ATF, Defense Department, U.S. Customs and Immigration along with corporate defections like Halliburton and Yahoo. None are coming back to RIM anytime soon and could just be the nail in the coffin.

Thanks for the detail, Alan.  I sure don't know what the best answer is, but it seems we want everything about our devices to be (reasonably) small and portable, except we want good keyboards and -- for some activities -- great screens.

I am just setting the challenge!

Hi Kim,

Creating extremely lightweight and portable keyboards -- with good key feel -- certainly is a huge design challenge. In one of my comments, I mentioned roll-up keyboards and projector-based keyboards. Both have been available for a few years and they work.

The roll-up keyboards are rubberized and don't feel very good. The tactile response is poor, although keys can be pushed down. Also, they are kind of bulky, as you know.

Projector keyboards display a full keyboard, typically in red, on a flat surface. They work, although not as well as roll-up keyboards. Also, one huge problem is pounding the virtual keys can hurt! Typing on a hard surface like a table isn't pleasant, and there's no tactile feedback, except the pain in your fingers.

In addition, projector keyboards require an external box. I haven't seen any commercial versions that are embedded into a phone or other device. Projected keyboards look very cool, though.

I don't know of any paper keyboards, but I'm eager to test Microsoft's Surface Touch Cover and Type Cover. Some reviewers say the Touch Cover works fairly well, although others don't like it. Many reviewers seem to like the Type Cover, which similar to a "real" keyboard, but with very shallow key travel.

Personally, if I'm traveling (or just eating at a nearby Panera) and I know I'm going to want to type extensively -- and I almost always do! -- I want as good a keyboard as possible. That means either a laptop computer (including a Chromebook) or the iPad with my relatively large Logitech keyboard.

Alas, like listening to mp3 music rather than CDs, people are getting used to inferior experiences, such as touch screen keyboards on phones and mediocre chicklet keys as on MacBook Airs and the like.

I'm waiting for this.

I think this is the real design challenge.  Put a one-stop-for-everything device in our pockets, but with reasonably generous screen and keyboard availability.  Two possibilities for the screen: one which folds up like a sheet of paper (people are working on this), or some kind of projector which would allow you to throw a sharp screen image on any blank space (table, wall).

Is anyone working on paper keyboards?  I'm a traditionalist too, but I could imagine a paper keyboard being less annoying than chiclets.

I'm thinking of something much more portable than this: