Hugo Miller at Bloomberg writing about the upcoming BlackBerry 10 event:
RIM needs an attention-grabber if it is to reverse six quarters of declining sales and a steady loss of market share. RIM was poised to finish 2012 with a 4.7 percent share of the global market, compared with almost 90 percent for Apple and Android combined, research firm IDC said last month. As recently as the first quarter of 2011, RIM had a 14 percent share.
The 'leaks' that have come out related to the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, apps, and devices have been interesting and show a ton of promise. I've been fairly impressed with what I have seen thus far.
However, the market hasn't shown much ability to support a true third competitor behind Google and Apple. Microsoft is nipping at RIM's heels for what little market leftovers exist, and has shown that it is willing to spend a lot of money to try to sway developers to its side. It is not at all hyperbole to say that this upcoming release from RIM will likely make or break the company.
The question is, which will it be?