The thing is that Apple's turnover in the beginning of the 2000s was following a period of stagnation in PC innovation. Microsoft simply did not have to innovate in the OS department and for that reason, they didn't really at least since Windows 2000, arguably even earlier if you only consider GUI innovations.
RIM however needs to turnaround in a market situation where the two hotshots, Google and Apple, have been pushing the envelopes year after year in order to keep ground, while a third contender (Microsoft) is already lurking and waiting for the slightest weakness of the other two. With such a powerplay I don't see how RIM could make it work, sorry.
This is great analysis and insight that I hadn't thought about.
Microsoft is definitely a beast, lurking, waiting, and ready to pounce. Their offering is extremely compelling, and is a threat to every player in the market.
We'll see what happens. No one can argue that these aren't interesting and exciting times.
