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RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

news.bbc.co.uk

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Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rory asked an intentionally loaded and HuffPo-like question; "Can I move on to the problems you've had in terms of security...and your various arguments you've had with the Indian government and a number of governments in the Middle East" This is like asking Craigslist about their "issues with revenue" since it's free to post anything outside of jobs, and being free is one of the key features that defines Craigslist.…

I don't understand your analogy: in the Craigslist case Craigslist has no issues being free, but others have issues with it being free. Craiglist is not making changes to their free model to appease others. In the RIM case the system is secure except when they are giving access to the system to governments - making it not secure (at least in many people's eyes). How are these similar?

It's definitely not a perfect analogy.

My point was that the BBC reporter was trying to create an issue out of something that is a core principle of the company (and something they do well in fact) and is intentionally misleading. I was trying to show the ridiculousness of it and help justify why the CEO got flustered and ended the interview.

So RIM is secure, the CEO is proud of it, and the question inferred that they're not secure.

Craigslist is free, the CEO is (probably) proud of it, and a question that infers that they have a problem because they don't charge for listings would be similar.

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly, Blackberry is insanely cool amoung the teen crowd in the UK (well, London anyway). Not sure why, since they have no need for business class email. BBM seems to be the main driver, even though there are plenty of altenatives on other platforms.

>Blackberry is insanely cool amoung the teen crowd in the UK It's definitely a London thing. They became hugely popular in the summer of 2009, rapidly making their way into the constantly shifting memepool that is the grime scene. Witness "Maxwell D - Blackberry Hype": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qtShEs5LQs Believe it or not this isn't paid product placement. Hence he lists RIM's competitors in the intro. They pr…

Those of us outside the UK can't see the video above, so here is another version of it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8OhnyziTPE

If you've not seen it, it really is an example of how deep the Blackberry runs in street culture - both back home in the UK and even here in the US (take a trip through Daly City or East Bay and check out the BB's).

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#53
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Blackberry is insanely cool amoung the teen crowd in the UK It's definitely a London thing. They became hugely popular in the summer of 2009, rapidly making their way into the constantly shifting memepool that is the grime scene. Witness "Maxwell D - Blackberry Hype": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qtShEs5LQs Believe it or not this isn't paid product placement. Hence he lists RIM's competitors in the intro. They pr…

Those of us outside the UK can't see the video above, so here is another version of it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8OhnyziTPE If you've not seen it, it really is an example of how deep the Blackberry runs in street culture - both back home in the UK and even here in the US (take a trip through Daly City or East Bay and check out the BB's).

That one doesnt work either (at least in denmark)

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#54
post #16

I don't know how else the BBC could ask the question RIM have never been upfront with a response to the question[1] (unlike Google, and others) and what you saw in that response from Lazaridis was more of his cool PR trained responses at work ('we are being singled out', 'we have a lot of issues' etc. etc. blah blah balh) [1] 'the question' is if RIM are providing backdoors to governments such as India, Russia et al…

I doubt if Lazaridis response would have been any different, since he is quite defensive these days, but BBC could have framed it as a privacy issue which is a more accurate description.

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#55
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have always been fascinated by BBM's popularity. Whenever somebody told me that BBM was their reason for buying a Blackberry, I always countered with text messaging is available on ALL phones. They counter with that you have to pay for text messaging and my final counter is that you already have a $60/month plan to support your Blackberry, why didn't you ask your phone company to throw in free text-messaging? They…

People who use BB for BBM do not get $60 plans.. they get $25 plans that have unlimited bis traffic and very low normal data traffic. Not to mention you can pump media through it for free

Every iPhone tariff in the UK has unlimited texts. Most non-iPhone tariffs as well...

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#56
post #53
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those of us outside the UK can't see the video above, so here is another version of it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8OhnyziTPE If you've not seen it, it really is an example of how deep the Blackberry runs in street culture - both back home in the UK and even here in the US (take a trip through Daly City or East Bay and check out the BB's).

That one doesnt work either (at least in denmark)

Here's a link to just the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFIgs8WkTSY

There was another tune called "Blackberry Swipe" about mugging people for their mobile phones. Can't remember who did it though. The grime scene really is like a musical version of 4chan when it comes to memetics.

They take it seriously too, people have been hospitalised over meme ownership: http://njaithewriter.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/itsalot-gate-g...

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#57
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who use BB for BBM do not get $60 plans.. they get $25 plans that have unlimited bis traffic and very low normal data traffic. Not to mention you can pump media through it for free

Every iPhone tariff in the UK has unlimited texts. Most non-iPhone tariffs as well...

Lucky you, here they skin you alive with the fees

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#58

The interview showed glimpses of desperation, edginess and plain frustration which speak volumes about RIM's approach to handling the drastically altered smart phone market. Lazaridis kept using the words "singled out" - his reasoning behind it was because they were so successful. He was trying to convince that the carpet has not been pulled from below RIM's feet. It showed that RIM doesn't really "get" it. They thin…

Oddly, Blackberry is insanely cool amoung the teen crowd in the UK (well, London anyway). Not sure why, since they have no need for business class email. BBM seems to be the main driver, even though there are plenty of altenatives on other platforms.

I see plenty of teens in San Francisco using Blackberries. From what I understand, the Blackberry hardware keyboard and scrollwheel are popular with speed texters.

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#59
I found the final words of the interview the most striking:

>>This is not fair... What are you doing?... This is a national security issue.

A national security issue for who? The US? Can't journalists ask questions about national security issues anymore?

I can see why the US would be weary to have business people/officials traveling to a country where all their conversations can be monitored. But is this a CEO confirmation that the RIM india/pakistan issue has become a US national security issue now?

A gag order would be perfect cause for this rather strange interview-stopping behavior from someone I reckon has a lot of experience dealing with journalists.

Re: RIM CEO terminates BBC Click interview

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly, Blackberry is insanely cool amoung the teen crowd in the UK (well, London anyway). Not sure why, since they have no need for business class email. BBM seems to be the main driver, even though there are plenty of altenatives on other platforms.

I have always been fascinated by BBM's popularity. Whenever somebody told me that BBM was their reason for buying a Blackberry, I always countered with text messaging is available on ALL phones. They counter with that you have to pay for text messaging and my final counter is that you already have a $60/month plan to support your Blackberry, why didn't you ask your phone company to throw in free text-messaging? They…

It's not so much that BBM is cheaper than texting, but rather that BBM is the best messaging client I've used. Sure, there are alternatives, but they don't work as well. Yes, BBM is the reason I stay with blackberry, and unless my friends ditch it, I will continue to use it.
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