Anonymous RIM Employee Condemns ‘Soviet-Era Government’ Atmosphere

BlackBerry may have a nice slice of the marketshare pie, and some interesting products – and platforms – on the way, but there are increasing fears over their future. This open letter to RIM, written by a “high-level” employee, says it all.

Told exclusively to BGR, the employee has detailed the problems RIM is facing, and offers up some solutions. Will they listen, though?

Opening the letter by stating s/he has “lost confidence”, they detail that “while I hide it at work, my passion has been sapped. I know I am not alone – the sentiment is widespread and it includes people within your own teams”, ending the letter by claiming “some of our offices feel like Soviet-era government workplaces.”

The most pertinent passage is something that will ring true for BlackBerry users around the world:

“On that note, we simply must stop shipping incomplete products that aren’t ready for the end user. It is hurting our brand tremendously. It takes guts to not allow a product to launch that may be 90% ready with a quarter end in sight, but it will pay off in the long term.”

It sounds as though RIM for too long has ignored their competitors, and this employee suggests that they “simply have to admit that Apple is nailing this and it is one of the reasons they have people lining up overnight at stores around the world, and products sold out for months. These people aren’t hypnotized zombies, they simply love beautifully designed products that are user centric and work how they are supposed to work.” The full letter is available for reading over on BGR, and has apparently been checked for authenticity. [BGR]


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