What a Difference Five Years Makes ⇥ washingtonpost.com

RIM (now ex-)CEO Mike Lazaridis, in November 2007:

“Try typing a web key on a touch screen on an iPhone, that’s a real challenge. You cannot see what you type.”

Ah, and now?

The first BlackBerry device running Research In Motion Ltd.’s new operating software will not have a physical keyboard, only a touch-screen one.

The BlackBerry 10 software will be offered on devices with physical keyboards in the future, but RIM spokeswomen Rebecca Freiburger declined to say when. RIM is expected to start selling BlackBerry 10 touch-screen devices this year.

What a difference five years, and a 92% decrease in the price of your company’s shares makes.

PS: I still haven’t a clue what he meant by “web key” in that quote. Some things do not change after five years.