In this recent article on The Economist, it is described how certain individuals in the Blackberry structure, as it confronts failure and tries to avoid becoming another notable Canadian company to fail like Nortel, are trying to switch the gears of the company from a hardware company to a company focused on supplying applications and other services to businesses. Actually supplying the handsets has become a major monetary sink for the company. I believe that RIM’s best option is to switch gears out of hardware, because the prospect of breaking into the market after being forced out to such a large extent is almost nil. Even major Android players like HTC and Windows Phone producers like Nokia are announcing losses and being forced to sell off divisions, respectively. By switching out of hardware Blackberry has the ability to occupy a niche market and become embedded with business consumers, instead of simply dying out if it keeps attempting to become a player in the cell phone market again. The major points of differentiation that Blackberry used to offer are no longer attractive to consumers, and it’s better for the company to cut losses and cut back in order to stay in business.