Can't we all just get along in the mobile space?
Such claims are not restricted to devices, it's not unusual to read that platform X is going to kill platform Y. It's as if it's not enough to kill off mobile devices one at a time, it's better to kill a bunch of them in one fell swoop.
You know what? The mobile space is now big enough that there's room for not only a lot of devices of a given type, there's also room for lots of different device types. There is room for phones with big screens, little screens, keyboards, touchscreens... you name it and there are customers for them. Tablets can be even more diverse: big screen, little screen and medium screen. No matter what size screen there will always be a enough buyers who find a given one to be just right. The Goldilocks effect for mobile devices, if you will.
A limited playing field for mobile devices was the reality until recently, but Apple's release of the original iPhone permanently changed things. Targeting mainstream consumers, not the early adopting techies, was a brilliant move by Apple that expanded the mobile space exponentially. There are now billions of customers world-wide that have been exposed to mobile tech, and have become potential buyers of it. Just about any device can now get enough sales to be what would have been called successful just a few years ago; of course the Kin is excluded from this statement.
While it's always a good thing to be number one in any field, with a big enough field the also-rans can make quite a few bucks. Having them around insures we have lots of different gadgets and capabilities to choose from, and that's a very good thing.
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