Ovum Sees Bleak Future for RIM

It will take more than BB10 to save RIM. That's the blunt assessment of Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum, who says the launch of the new OS will offer some respite for RIM, but no more thsan that.

Dawson says that RIM has suffered from the increasing trends towards inviduals, rather than their employers, buying their mobile phone. In addition, he says, Ovum's recent surveys suggest that that, even when employees aren’t choosing the device, they expect the replacement for their current BlackBerry to be an iPhone or an Android device.

With no debt, 80m subscribers and profitability in the black in at least some recent quarters, Dawson says he does not expect a speedy exit from the market, noting that "the company can continue in this vein for years". He concludes, however, that: "its glory days are past, and it is only a matter of time before it reaches a natural end.”

You can read Dawson's analysis in full here.