Research In Motion has publicly stated repeatedly that it will launch its BlackBerry 10 devices in Q1 2013. RIM CEO Thorsten Heins went as far as indicating that devices would launch in January. “I’m very confident about the first quarter, whether it’s January or February,” Heins told CrackBerry this summer. A research note is now calling this in question.
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek now expects that RIM will launch its BlackBerry 10 devices slightly later, in March.
“We had hoped for a January launch but now see a March launch as more likely,” he writes. That would mean no sales of the next generation phones in the February quarter.”
Misek expects that there is little chance that someone could acquire RIM before BlackBerry 10 launches. This suggests that companies are waiting to see how good RIM’s new operating system is before making any kind of move.
Misek also believes that RIM still has a chance to establish itself as a credible third mobile ecosystem. To do so, RIM will need to license BlackBerry 10 to others to grow its device selection (something already echoed by RIM itself). It will also need to compete against Windows Phone 8 and other mobile operating systems.
Just how long are you willing to wait for your BlackBerry 10 device? Or is it too late already?
Read more: Forbes