RIM CEO refutes Steve Jobs’ PlayBook dismissal

The Cupertino-based tech giant, Apple, reported earnings for the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, posting record revenue of $20.34-billion and a record quarterly profit of $4.31-billion in the period.

To mark the most successful financial quarter in the company’s history, Apple chief executive, Steve Jobs, joined the quarterly conference call to discuss the earnings and developments at the company.

Mr. Jobs made a number of interesting comments looking at the future of the company, while criticizing the strategies of top rivals like Google and Research In Motion.

The latest market research data indicate the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion, is losing market share to both Apple iOS and Google Android devices, as users switch to those competing devices that offer a better user experience.

 To counter the success of the Apple iPad, RIM is scheduled to release its new 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer that uses the all-new QNX operating system.

During the Apple conference call, Mr. Jobs essentially dismissed RIM’s yet to be released tablet arguing 7-inch tablet computers are not very usable for consumers, concluding his company “really understands” device usability and that 7-inch displays are simply too small.

Mr. Jobs went as far as predicting that 7-inch devices would be abandoned altogether by device-makers by the end of next year.

RIM chief executive Jim Balsillie today refuted Mr. Jobs’ comments, saying “those of us who live outside of Apple’s distortion field, we know that 7-inch tablet [computers will] be a big portion of the market,”

Mr. Balsillie went on to argue that developers and consumers want open platforms, instead of a closed ecosystem like that of Apple’s iOS, and want Adobe Flash support which many websites use which would give users “a real web experience,”

Mr. Balsillie even implied Apple is untruthful, saying, “As usual, whether the subject is antennas, Flash, or shipments, there is more to the story and sooner or later, even people inside the distortion field will begin to resent being told half a story.”

Apple has labeled Adobe’s Flash platform as proprietary and not as relevant for current mobile devices due to inefficiencies and security concerns, instead favoring the open source HTML5 web standard.

Mr. Jobs also criticized Google’s Android mobile operating system, arguing it is fragmented and that consumers don’t get the same consistent experience as with the iPhone since device makers use different user interface overlays to improve the user experience.