[RobIsIT]

"4. I do not think they can do this, huge part of their brand is software"

I don't think that RIM should ignore their OS or the software that runs on it - far from it. I think that RIM needs to make a course correction and that the course correction should focus on hardware. Software is will easily make or break RIM (as you've noted with QNX), but centering their products on a strong, reliable, thin and easily extendable OS should become front-and-center.

"5. Not sure, my plan costs me $35 cdn and its unlimited sms, 5gb of data etc (go WIND!)"

Sadly, Wind is only available in heavily populated metropolitan areas and RIM has done nothing to ensure low rates. Wind is simply competing on price.

RIM needs to publicly open discussions with every carrier in the world. They need to form collations to reduce cellular data fees so that their devices proliferate even faster. How much more popular would the Playbook be if it came with an unlimited data plan that cost $5 a month? How many more Blackberries would we see (regardless of product changes) if they openly supported the customers who used their devices?

Beyond offsetting hardware costs with term fees, monthly data costs are outrageous. Battling them is a way to win favor with the public and secure a larger number of users.