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October 12, 2021

BlackBerry outage bad timing for weary RIM

In terms of “what RIM needs right now,” a massive, sweeping BlackBerry outage falls somewhere between its stock price falling below $20 and photos of Jim Balsillie in drag popping up online.

9900Bold_blk_BottomAngleIndeed, just when the world was beginning to forget about the ongoing PlayBook debacle, all that Research In Motion may have left – the sturdy BlackBerry and its reliable service – appears to be wavering, giving everyone the chance to reopen that age-old smartphone argument:

BlackBerry, iPhone or otherwise?

According to the latest reports, BlackBerry outages in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia and India have today reached Canada and the U.S..

*Bing: Compare BlackBerry vs. iPhone vs. Windows Phone vs. Android

Users say the disruptions, which, globally, have been going on for three days, have impacted BlackBerry’s text, email and web browsing services.

Immediately, the BlackBerry outage is felt most glaringly with consumers*, who have taken to the web to express their displeasure with RIM’s service.

By a Star poll accessed early Wednesday afternoon, 56 per cent of respondents said the latest BlackBerry outage had convinced them to explore other smartphone options.

(*Let’s forget for a moment that it isn’t consumers that ought to be most irked by a BlackBerry outage; the smartphone’s last ironclad adopter group, the world’s corporations, would surely be more affected by a service outage than twentysomethings that can’t change their BBM profile pics.)

Perhaps now, more than ever, BlackBerry is at risk of losing its customer base. Currently there are about 70 million BlackBerry users across the world, and at least some of them are pretty frustrated about things.

What’s of note here, then, is the emergence of Android and the iPhone 4S’ release in two days. In other words, this ain’t the time for a BlackBerry outage.

BlackBerry users: going forward, will you stick with your RIM smartphone?

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

*Photo couresty RIM.

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...