RIM has a few competitive advantages: They are the only company that provides a secure handset. Their integration with corporate email systems through BES is unrivaled.<p>If they license their software to less trusted handsets then they lose the first. There are companies like Good that are already eroding this for IPhone users but it has a way to go. It's questionable how long they can last on the second.
So basically we arrive at the same point that Apple did in the mid 90s. Will there be a lazarus like comeback in a couple of years or will the cloners eat the rest of RIMs already half consumed lunch ?
This is a huge shift for Blackberry. It seems that the stifling stranglehold of Mike Lazaridis may be broken in time to save the company. But I wouldn't bet on it.