True. On the other hand, BB can take a look at who their customer base is and focus upon developing apps for their needs (and encouraging other developers to develop for BB in those markets). Once they have solidified their core markets, they can expand into other markets.

As for taking iOS or Android head on, I doubt they have a chance. Google managed to do it, but the circumstances were different: they offered choice where an iOS dominated market didn't. They offered more focus than Symbian, which always felt like a scatterbrained mess. They offered vendor stability when most Linux based phones were produced by small companies or were concept products. They offered a platform that was open to third-party developers, when most popular platforms were controlled by the vendor.