It is pretty clear that 2011 hasn't been the most stellar year for RIM this year. From falling stock, to a bumpy PlayBook launch it would seem as though everything has gone wrong for the BlackBerry maker. Even the launch of its new OS 7 devices seem to have mixed reviews. It's all about the good, the bad, and the ugly for RIM these days.

So called analysts from all over think they have RIM's future all planned out, but history has shown few actually get it right. According to Wall Street RIM's story will only get worse, as shares slipped to a seven-year low at $15. In addition, RIM told us earlier that the PlayBook sales were poor, and that they were actually taking a loss. All of this has left some divided within the BlackBerry community, and many have jumped on the RIM failure bandwagon. Regardless of which side your on, looking at the raw facts clearly tell us that there are issues.

One of the areas where RIM has struggled with has been the ability to adjust to structural market shifts. This is not easy thing to do as we have seen the disaster of company's like Palm, and Motorola. Rod Hall of J.P Morgan states that “Only excellent execution on new BB 10 devices has the potential to drive better numbers in our view, “However, we need to see evidence in order to feel more constructive.” I agree, the key to RIM having a better year next year greatly depends on the launch of BlackBerry 10. If RIM launches BlackBerry 10 to late in the year it could face strong competition from Apples iphone 5 and all the new Android devices that are bound to launch next year. RIM should not be in a place where another device is trumping its glory.

Strategic planning, and strong device launches I believe, are a must for RIM in order to have a good year in 2012. Later today RIM will report results for its fiscal third quarter.