Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins recently claimed that tablet computers will become obsolete within the next 5 years. Heins specifies that he thinks tablets aren’t a good business model, well not for Blackberry anyway. In a recent article published by Noel Young at The Drum, the Blackberry CEO believes that smartphones are the future aided by virtual keyboards, docking stations and other connected devices. By claiming that people now carry laptops, tablets and smartphones that this is an excessive amount of devices for a single person to operate. Yet by promoting additional devices such as keyboards and docking stations then won’t people be carrying even more devices?
Tablets are merely a larger version of smartphones (without the phone obviously) and I for one like tablets over smartphones simply due to their size and ease of use. I love my I-Phone, but often find the smaller screen a little fiddly to view material and use. Tablets have on-screen keyboards which eliminates the need for external keyboards as suggested by Heins. Tablet sales have recently overpowered sales of laptops and PC’s, and perhaps it’s PC’s and laptops which will become obsolete or less used, not tablets.
The 1st smartphone I used was Blackberry Curve and it’s the worst piece of technology I have ever owned. The phone itself was riddled with bugs and required battery re-starts almost daily, and the quality of services and applications offered by Blackberry were full of bugs and were low quality. Whilst I am no technology geek or expert, the I-Phone and Samsung Galaxy have proven to be far more successful than any Blackberry device.
In the last 5 years Blackberry share price on the Nasdaq has plummeted by 88.27%, so if I want advice on technology then I’ll trust the more successful companies. Here’s evidence of Blackberry’s stock market demise:
Blackberry 5 Year Nasdaq Share Price
In my humble opinions I believe we’ll witness the demise of Blackberry before the demise of the tablet computer.
By JK Consultancy 01/05/2013
King's Content 
I’ve never been convinced by tablets as I’ve never really found a purpose for mine. I have a notebook that allows me to build complex spreadsheets and databases. After 6 years of Nokia keyboard phones I’ve just moved to the new Blackberry Z10 which is good. I’m not too comfortable with a touchscreen for email yet as I can’t type as quickly on it as I can with a physical keyboard. For reading the newspapers or updating my class Facebook page on the move it’s perfect.
I suspect we’ll see phones and tablets become a lot closer. As mobiles get bigger, for example the new Samsung, and tablets get smaller the line between the two will blur.
The choice of mobile computing power will likely be a major market in the next few years. The challenges for me lie in phone battery life, serious applications for tablets and notebooks that get smaller but more powerful.
Very fair points raised Stephen, especially about typing. This was the very reason I purchased my Blackberry initially, but I forced myself to change my old fashioned habits and see what all the touchscreen fuss was about. It’s surprisingly easy to type on a touchscreen smartphone, and tablets even easier.
I also agree with your point about the line between smartphones and tablets becoming blurred.
I fear that Blackberry will go bust or get bought over before they invent a game-changing device.
I was not at all convinced about tablets when the first iPad came out – mainly due to perceived difficulty with typing on such a big screen with one hand whilst you type with the other. This was until I got an iPad. It is certainly more convenient than getting out a laptop to browse the web or trying on your small screen phone. The issue with typing remains but it doesn’t really affect usability.
The idea of using peripherals and accessories attached to a smartphone is ok in theory, but far too fiddly in reality and an all in one solution of screen, powerhouse, battery and onscreen keyboard is far more user friendly.
I still prefer typing on my laptop, but slowly my speed on Tablets and Smartphones is increasing. I had to get with the 21st century tech crowd and glad I did. Touchscreens are the way forward.
Exactly my point about fiddly additional accessories, I agree. It took me a while to shift my opinion to buying Apple, but my I-Phone is the best piece of technology I’ve ever owned. Blackberry don’t have the legs to compete with Apple and even Samsung.