RIM’s CEO defends brand, says he’s looking forward “to winning back many who have left”

RIM is strong. The company has over 80 million BlackBerry subscribers and over 60 million BBM users. They have no debt and are going through a massive transition – one they need to go to compete against other manufacturers such as Samsung and Apple.

Yesterday the New York Times ran an article that states some BlackBerry users are ‘ashamed’ to bring their device out in public. Many loyal BB users were shocked, some were not. Twitter was filled with the #ProudToBeTeamBlackBerry and #BB10believe hashtags. In an effort to calm the storm, Thorsten Heins, RIM’s CEO, took the time to write a letter to the NYT. He stated the article “lacks the balance your readers expect” and that that “any report of dissatisfaction among our users is a cause for concern,” but legions of supportive words from BlackBerry users were “encouraging to me.”

It’s a good read and Heins also noted they “appreciate the customers who have remained loyal to the BlackBerry platform and look forward to winning back many who have left.” BlackBerry 10 is on track for a release in Q1 2013. Read the full letter below:

To the Editor:
“BlackBerry as Black Sheep in Smartphones” (Business Day, Oct. 16) lacks the balance your readers expect.

With more than 80 million customers globally, BlackBerry is growing and remains one of the world’s most popular smartphones. I’ve just come from visiting carriers and partners in all parts of the world, and they have told me that there are millions of BlackBerry fans out there who not only find great value in their device, but also pride in being a BlackBerry owner.

While any report of dissatisfaction among our users is a cause for concern that I take very seriously, the comments supporting BlackBerry both online and in calls we’ve received from our customers in response to your article are encouraging to me.

BlackBerry remains the leader in providing security for corporate customers, which is why more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500 rely on BlackBerry. It’s true that some companies put restrictions on accessing certain applications for security reasons, but applications like Yelp and OpenTable are, in fact, among the approximately 100,000 apps available in BlackBerry AppWorld.

We’ve received excellent feedback from carriers, developers and partners for our upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform and are on track to deliver it in the first quarter of 2013. We appreciate the customers who have remained loyal to the BlackBerry platform and look forward to winning back many who have left.

THORSTEN HEINS
President and Chief Executive
Research In Motion
Waterloo, Ontario, Oct. 16, 2012

Source: NYT