BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has announced that it is laying off about 2,000 employees, including senior managers. This comes after the BlackBerry has been overtaken by both iPhone and Android.
A recent ComScore report declares Google-made Android as the top smartphone platform in the United States, with 38% of all American smartphone users use Android devices as of May 2011. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone outran BlackBerry to become the second most-popular smartphone platform with close to 27% of the total smartphone market in the U.S. Both platforms are expected to rise in the months to come.
Last May, BlackBerry has approximately 25% hold among smartphone users, down from nearly 29% in February. Judging from the experts' opinion, the downward trend would continue unless RIM does something about it.
“(Both) iOS and Android have thousands of developers writing applications and services for the platform and as such there are thousands of apps available on these platforms to make them very attractive and popular with consumers,” mobile analyst Chetan Sharma said in an interview with New York Daily News. “BlackBerry has been behind in the touch economy and needs to cultivate the developer ecosystem if it intends to fend off Microsoft for the distant #3 spot.”
source: Gadget.com
