Short thoughts on recent tech news...
RIM as Greek tragedy
I wrote last fall that I was worried about RIM's financial stability (link), but I never expected the company to start inflicting damage on itself. RIM has always come across as a calm, dependable company. Maybe not as flashy as some other firms, but reliable and smart. But as we approached the PlayBook launch, the company has started to look like its own worst enemy.
It's clear that the PlayBook was designed initially as a companion device for people who have BlackBerry phones, and only those people. That's an interesting choice -- not one I would have made, but I can see RIM's logic. But apparently RIM decided late in the game that it needed to market the tablet to a broader range of customers. It started talking up the features those users would need, without making clear that the features would not be included in the device at launch. Many of the things the company has been touting -- such as Android app compatibility and the ability to check e-mail messages independently of a BlackBerry -- were not available when the device shipped. RIM has been marketing vaporware. That guarantees disappointed reviews that focus on what the device doesn't do, rather than what it does. Check out Walt Mossberg's write-up (link).
While this has been going on, RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis has been compounding the problem by creating a personal reputation as a loose cannon. His latest escapade was ending a TV interview with BBC when they asked about security issues. The use of the word "security" was mildly provocative, but if you've ever dealt with the British press, you know they specialize in goading people to get an interesting reaction. The more senior your title, the more they'll poke at you, to see if you can take the heat.
The way this game works, there are several techniques you can use to deal with an aggressive question. You can laugh at it, you can calmly point out the flaw in the question, you can answer it earnestly and patiently, and you can even pretend not to understand it (I did that once on a UK TV show and it drove the interviewer crazy because he didn't have time to rephrase the question). But the one thing you can't do is stop the interview. If you do that, the BBC will post a clip of you online that makes you look like a gimlet-eyed prima donna (link).
The fact that Lazaridis did this means either he's losing personal control under pressure, or not being properly briefed by his press people, or both. Whatever the cause, it is unprofessional, and it's making RIM's challenges harder.
If you want to understand the damage being done, you can read the forward-looking obituary of RIM that Slate just ran (link). Or check out this column by Rob Pegoraro of the Washington Post (link). Rob's a very fair-minded, professional journalist who isn't given to hyperbole. But he called Lazaridis' actions "profoundly foolish from any sane marketing perspective...Seriously, does RIM not realize whom it’s competing with? The company is all but begging to get crushed by Apple."
I haven't written off RIM by any means. They have a huge customer base, a great brand, and a long history of overcoming skepticism from people like me. I hope they can do it again. But at a minimum, RIM's management needs to recognize that they do not have the marketing skills needed to play in the world of increased smartphone competition. They need professional help, immediately. And I worry that the marketing problems are actually symptoms of much deeper disorder within the company.
The lamest market research study of the year
It's still early in the year, but I think someone's going to have to work pretty hard to do a lamer market research study than Harris Interactive's EquiTrends survey of mobile phone brands in the US. Harris says the survey indicated that Motorola has the most "brand equity" of mobile phone brands in the US, followed by HTC, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and Apple. Harris also provided a nice chart of the results (link):