No reason for tablets in five years, says Blackberry CEO
Z10 maker's Thorsten Heins says iPad-like devices not a good business model for the future
Tablets are all the rage these days, but it's just a phase, according to Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins. Speaking with The Telegraph, the CEO of the Canadian smartphone company said the familiar devices will become far less common in the near future.
"In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore," Heins said. "Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model."
That suggests Blackberry won't be pursuing its PlayBook tablet line very aggressively. The original device launched in 2011, and struggled out of the gate. Heins told The Telegraph that the company would only consider a follow-up if it had something different to offer in a market packed with competitors.
"In five years, I see BlackBerry to be the absolute leader in mobile computing. That's what we're aiming for," Heins said. "I want to gain as much market share as I can, but not by being a copycat."
With the launch of its anticipated Z10 phone, Blackberry is just starting to emerge from a difficult stretch. For the fiscal year ended March 2, it reported a net loss of $646 million, compared to a net profit of $1.16 billion the year before.
I disagree because Tablets bring a whole new level of practicality - above phones, above phablets and above laptops when it comes to their main reasons for existence. I've had all form factors so I'm speaking from personal experience and what I expect to be still using in the future - I can imagine many will be the same.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Adam Campbell on 30th April 2013 7:34pm
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The End.
No reason for tablets in five years, hopes Blackberry CEO
1) He is trying to misdirect the competition.
2) He thinks that it is April 1st.
3) He is trying to become popular in England by displaying strong irony.
4) Too much beer/whisky/vodka/gin/brandy.
5) He has never actually used a tablet.
6) His marketing department have deliberately mi- briefed him as part of a mutiny.
7) He forgot to pack the lithium.
8) He thinks that the time has come to start using his pension pot.
9) He really meant "consoles" but got confused or was misquoted.
10) He has a big pile of Blackberry sell options.
Then pay very close attention to companies currently working on flexible LED screen tech. If the image quality continues to increase and the manufacturing costs continues to decrease, 10 years from now we could have touch sensitive LED screens embedded into everything we own.