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BlackBerry Service Outage
A service outage affected users of RIM’s BlackBerry devices around the globe. Initially, the company provided little information on the outage, annoying users. Although it quickly started providing more information to users, it still took days to restore service in some regions.
RIM’s Weak Strategy
The outage wasn’t the only problem facing RIM this year. The company seems to be struggling to communicate a solid strategy. Most BlackBerry devices remain stuck with physical keyboards, small displays, and all the other things that consumers (and even enterprise users) don’t want in smartphones any longer.
What Happened to the Cius?
The Cisco Cius was supposed to be the tablet that would bring Android to the enterprise. Instead, the device got off to a tepid launch and then was largely ignored by the majority of corporate users. iPad continues to lead the way in enterprise tablets. Can Cisco Cius ever catch up?
Where Was the Design Innovation?
With Apple launching two mobile products this year, and Amazon offering a tablet of its own, many believed that ideas on product design would be pushed forward this year. Instead, just about every company kept to standard design ideas popularized by Apple. Want a big display with a small bezel? It wasn’t hard to find this year.
Iterative Updates From Apple
Apple was very much a disappointment this year. Rumors cropped up day after day, suggesting the next iPad would be a huge improvement over its predecessor. But when the iPad 2 was announced, it was nothing of the sort. The same can be said for the iPhone 4S. While Siri is nifty, the device is more step-change than revolution. When will Apple make its next major product upgrade?
Google’s Honeycomb Disaster
Earlier this year, Google offered up Android 3.0 Honeycomb to tablet vendors in the hopes that it could start carving into Apple’s dominant market share. But once the Motorola Xoom launched, it quickly became clear that Honeycomb wasn’t ready for primetime. And now, Google is still trying to fix that mistake.
Android Tablets
Countless Android tablets hit store shelves and quickly collected dust as consumers discovered that they were mostly iPad wannabes. Combined with weak marketing, and it was clear that no Android vendor really knew what it was doing in 2011.
Google Acquires Motorola Mobility
When Google announced that it was acquiring Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, the company said that it was doing so for patent protection. It also reassured Android partners that it wouldn’t affect Google’s relationship with them. But as the deal nears approval, that’s not necessarily clear. And $12.5 billion seems a high price to pay for patent protection. It’s arguably one of the worst acquisitions Google has made in a long time.
Lawsuits Galore
The mobile space is overflowing with patent lawsuits right now. Apple is suing just about every Android handset maker under the sun, including HTC and Motorola Mobility, while Google is being hit hard by Oracle. Even Microsoft is in the mix. Enough already. These lawsuits are stifling innovation and could eventually hurt competition in the marketplace.
Enterprise? Wait, What?
Once upon a time, tech companies would deliver products exclusively for enterprise users and work closely with IT to address the needs of the corporate world. Those days are over. The enterprise is becoming less important as tech companies realize the best way to take control of the corporate world is by going after the employees.
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