There was a time when BlackBerry ruled the smartphone world. Those days have gone and past, leaving BlackBerry (formerly RIM) slowly sinking. Everyone knows why BlackBerry fell from grace, they didn't innovate, and they started creating subpar products to appeal to the masses (BlackBerry Pearl?). Now after years of struggling and massive market share erosion, they are finally making a move. The question remains, is it too late? Is this product even good enough to stage a comeback?

via cdn.crackberry.com

In my opinion - Between BlackBerry 10 and their two new phones the Z10 (Slate) and Q10 (QWERTY), they absolutely have a shot at making a comeback. From the short time I've spent playing around with the Z10, I was blown away at what they have done. The hardware is beautiful and high end feeling. The OS is smooth as butter, and certainly had more polish than I would ever expect from a version 1.0 operating system...The thing that got me thinking about their comeback is what happened after I set the device down. I pulled out my iphone and immediately started emailing and texting my friends about it.

It feels like forever since I've become a full time iphone / android user, and left my trusty BlackBerry behind. I've advised countless people to do the same, to leave BlackBerry. However now I'm waiting with baited breathe for the release of the Q10. Why the Q10? The physical keyboard. Call me old school, but I miss the days when I could fire out a message without looking at the keys. Heck, I used to type out lengthy emails on my BlackBerry while sitting at my desk in front of my computer. The physical keyboard was an amazing asset to me, and I want it back. If that can be paired with a buttery touch environment and a rocking web browser, I'm in.

via cdn.crackberry.com

Heres the hitch - Apps. BlackBerry needs to convince developers that their platform is viable, and get some good native apps on their market before BB10 can contend with Apple and Google. Sideloading applications simply will not do it, they need to be made for BB10. If they cannot make this happen, it will be their demise. As of writing this, there are still some gaping holes in the app offering. One can only hope that this problem will be fixed in the months to come.

The last argument for their success is one that is a touchy subject. The big two have problems on their hands. iOS is getting stale, and big manufactures like Samsung are getting tired of being tied to Android. Those two things alone might open up just enough space to allow for a 3rd player - BlackBerry - to stage a comeback.

What are your thoughts, is BlackBerry ripe for a comeback?