MONTREAL — The iPhone versus BlackBerry competition is starting to get personal, with Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie slicing apart Apple’s criticisms of the Canadian smartphone maker.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs bragged Monday that Apple sold more iPhones than Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) sold BlackBerrys in the most recent financial quarter.
Balsillie issued a lengthy statement on Tuesday, saying that Jobs gave only “half a story.”
“We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple,” Balsillie said.
He said the higher sales of Apple’s iPhones don’t add up because RIM’s second fiscal quarter ended Aug. 28, while Apple’s quarter was over at the end of September.
RIM, based in Waterloo, Ont., had record shipments for five consecutive quarters and said it would ship between 13.8 million and 14.4 million devices in its current quarter.
“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,” Balsillie said.
Apple has had some problems with the antennas on its iPhone 4, which can lose reception when held in a certain way. It has also been criticized for refusing to use Adobe Flash support for its Internet surfing.
Balsillie also took on Jobs’ criticism of tablet computers with smaller, seven-inch screens, like RIM’s new PlayBook, which is geared towards business users.
Jobs took a shot Monday at smaller tablets, saying they would be “dead on arrival.” Apple’s iPad has a 10-inch screen.
Analyst Tero Kuittinen said Jobs’ comments were unusual and not “very gracious.”
“Usually CEOs don’t go that far in assessing upcoming rival products,” said Kuittinen, with MKM Partners.
Despite the feud, analysts say Research In Motion may looking toward a different, more international marketplace.
“It could have a viable future as a growth company that really focuses on affordable smartphones, affordable messaging devices,” Kuittinen said from New York.
“The fate of Research In Motion really hinges on how well they now do in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.”
BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long also said RIM is best positioned to benefit from smartphone growth in emerging markets over the next few years.
“We estimate that RIM’s emerging markets units more than doubled in 2009 to 5.4 million and are posed to triple in 2010 to over 15 million,” Long wrote in a research note.