Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins is branching out. No longer content to be just the CEO of one of the most improbably failingest tech companies, he is now a prognosticator (that’s a fancy word for someone who predicts the future). According to Heins, in five years there will no longer be any reason to have a tablet computer.
This may come as a surprise to shareholders, as Heins said just a few months ago, of the Blackberry PlayBook tablet, “We want to provide a value proposition that is not just hardware, but software, too. What we’ll be doing in the tablet space is looking for specific services on top of the tablet — financial, healthcare verticals. We are still exploring various use cases for it.”
We have always thought that one of the Blackberry’s downfalls was that it positioned itself perhaps a bit too strongly as a primarily corporate device. Which made their naming the tablet the “PlayBook” all the more curious.
(Of course, we’ve also always thought that the Sidekick’s downfall was that it positioned itself too strongly as a device for hip-hop mad twenty-somethings, when in fact the Sidekick had perhaps one of the best OSs on the market, for a time, and was fabulous for business as well.)
The Internet Patrol is completely free, and reader-supported. Your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP.
CashApp us
Venmo us
Paypal us
Anyways, back to Heins’ prediction. In full, he said that “In five years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore. Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets themselves are not a good business model.”
What do you think? Do you envision ever giving up your tablet? Do you think that tablets will go the way of the dinosaur?
We asked our iPad Mini, which replied, in true Twain style, that reports of its death were greatly exaggerated.
The Internet Patrol is completely free, and reader-supported. Your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP.
CashApp us
Venmo us
Paypal us
Sorry, but I will back RIM on this one. He’s making a business case. And he’s positioned to be able to.
At one time, the commodore PET was the b-all and end-all. Then came the Apple ][ Remember the heady days of “Apple // Forever!”? Seen one lately?
Then it was the desktop, (Which according to prognosticators should have died out 5 years ago. But I am writing this using a desktop). Still sales are falling. Why? Everyone owns one! And new purchases are laptops.
Now the laptop was supposed to be dead about 20 years ago, too. “Not powerful enough.” Just a toy! Still here, still selling. Still sales are falling. Why? Everyone owns one.
To think that tablets are a long term thing, is therefore a stupid thing to do. They are a niche product. Like e-readers. Useful to a few, but not to the many.
Somewhere in in deepest darkest Japan, someone is working on the next big thing. And fewer desktops, laptops, AND tablets will be sold. But the next big thing will rule for a few years….
By then all computers and ejunk will go out of fashion. WHY? We will not be able to afford them. Peak oil, gas, hydro, gold, copper, and silver will have all come. We’ll go back to far far simpler times, unless we have nuked ourselves to death.
Pessimistic am I? Perhaps. But all great civilizations have fallen in the past. Is our civilization magically immune from failure because “GOD” (in the form of Steve Jobs) came to Earth to redeem us from Satan’s (Bill gates) power?
Sorry. I think not. But do not worry. Our civilization still has at least 12 years life left.
So pads, desktop, laptops, smart phones, ereaders, and the next big thing all have at least a decade of life left.