Software vs Hardware (Blackberry Edition)

VentureBeat beats up on Blackberry.  Their main argument is that Software beat out Hardware.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry continued to kill it. And in this way, Nokia, the largest cellphone maker, did too on the low-end with its “dumb phones.” Until circa 2007, it was the Golden Age of Hardware. The two companies perfected the hardware’s sync with phone networks. Voice quality was good and reliable. All RIM had to do was continue to make more of these useful phones, lower the price, and take ownership of the mass market. As BlackBerry became more entrenched, RIM’s leadership apparently became ever more certain of the company’s direction and superiority.

But in 2007 and 2008, the groundwork was finally laid for software’s resurgence.

Faster cell and data networks, at least in the U.S. and in many European and Asian countries, became ubiquitous. They became smarter too, offering things like location. Phones could also tap servers providing data over these upgraded networks to serve users with a plethora of useful applications. Then Apple launched its SDK, and the mobile app revolution was born. Third party developers tapped the network, and the phone, to offer their own services. Google’s Android launched shortly thereafter. RIM was left like a frog in a frying pan, clinging to what it thought was a safe world of superior hardware.

 I find the analogy interesting and expressive - something similar is happening in the OSX vs Windows world, and of course, in the iOS vs Android world.  In both cases, the Apple approach is software dominated while the "other" approach is fixated on hardware specs.
Think about it - after an initial flurry of "How great is this iPhone display, wah! wah! w00t!", you pretty much hear nothing else about it, but do hear a metric ton about Siri, iCloud, Apps, etc.  In the Android world however, virtually all the discussion about the new phones tends to be the exact opposite, i.e., after an initial flurry of "How great is Ice Cream Sandwich, rejoice!", its all about pen-tile displays, quad-core processors, NFC, etc.
To hammer the point home, just look at the discussion of any set of PCs vs Macs - the PCs are all about the latest processor from Intel, screen size, etc., while the Macs have always been about "oooh check out this totally cool way in which I can ... on my Mac!"

That said, the Android and PC market still seem to be extra-ordinarily vibrant places, so my gut tells me that Blackberry's FIAL was that they stuck with hardware, without the ecosystem, i.e., unlike Android (and PCs), they were the sole manufacturer, and dictated everything.  In the Android world, there is a healthy mix of supplier experiments and demand-voting (3-D cameras - FIAL!).  No such luck in Blackberry world...