RIM is so excited it won't tell us what went wrong with BlackBerry

While the world holds its breath for the launch of PGEgaHJlZj0iaHR0cDovL2FkaXByYW1hbmEuY29tLzIwMTIvMDEvdGlwcy10cmlrLWJsYWNrYmVycnkuaHRtbA0iIHRhcmdldD0iX2JsYW5rIiByZWw9Im5vZm9sbG93Ij5CbGFja0JlcnJ5PC9hPg== 10, it seems the execs are struggling to talk about it.

With any brand trying to relaunch itself, we're used to the tranche of interviews with key executive members showing the world that things are now all better and missing out on the new product would mean missing out on the greatest thing ever.

However, sometimes the message can overwhelm the ability to hold a normal human conversation, and that's precisely what happened to Stephen Bates, RIM's European MD, when speaking about the launch on BBC Breakfast.

Bates was clearly ready for this little media tour, having learned the press release by heart, and was full of the buzzwords surrounding "transition" and "mobile computing" and most importantly "excited", a word he used in various guises no fewer than seven times in a three and a half minute interview.

However, at no point did he answer the question about RIM's dramatic plunge in smartphone market share. The question was subsequently asked again, more succinctly: "What went wrong?"

In response, Bates stayed firm in his decision to be a press release on a stool, pointing out that RIM "took the decision" to make its own mobile OS, which will provide all manner of wonderful things for its loyal bunch of users – without coming close to acknowledging the response required.

Embarassingly the question was asked for a third time "– Yes, but what went wrong?" – at which point it became clear that RIM had briefed all staff not to talk about anything other than the "excitement" of the launch today.

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