RIM has opened the doors to its newest and most anticipated OS Blackberry 10 to select partners to preview and test the platform and select handsets. This preview is one of the final steps to lead up to the public launch of the product to the public on January 30th.
The preview has a lot riding on it for RIM considering the state of the company and the continued decline in its user base and stock price, which currently sits at $13.82. The company faces a huge challenge with its latest OS.
First it needs to impress current customers that have held out for the latest platform, then the company must attempt to woo back former customers from the competition that has significantly reduced RIM’s user counts, namely Android and Apple based devices.
The preview is an invitation only beta and over half of the 120 invited companies are large enterprise Blackberry customers, though specific companies involved in the test have not been announced.
It may be too late for Blackberry, barring an amazing launch, with can’t live without features and an influx of customers in a frenzy to get the platform, the company is in real trouble. There is not a major buzz around RIM or Blackberry any longer and they have missed out on most opportunities to innovate with the competition taking over their once mobile supremacy.
It will be interesting to see the thoughts from preview customers on blog sites and through social media on the Blackberry 10 OS and devices, that’s where the real test begins.
