Steve Jobs seemed determined to eliminate BlackBerry from its existence when he introduced his revolutionary iPhone, yet new movie shows its technology was actually far ahead of its rivals. “Losing the Signal: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of BlackBerry” tells this remarkable tale of one of history’s first widely adopted premium smartphones – having owned 50% of US market share and 20% worldwide share; selling 50 million units annually at its peak; boasting double-digit stock returns at this point in time!
The film stars Jay Baruchel as RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis and Glenn Howerton as co-CEO Jim Balsillie; it portrays them as bold innovators whose products have revolutionized how people work; however, its portrayal also shows their failure to anticipate changes in consumer markets ultimately dooming RIM.
Owning a Blackberry was once seen as an honor. It was one of the first mobile devices that offered seamless, continuous access to corporate email and an always-on connection with digital ether, so owning one allowed users to respond to emails while traveling or at the dentist office.
Apple then introduced the iPhone, a touchscreen gadget designed specifically to displace BlackBerry phones. At first, its marketing was like taunting your opponent before an important fight.