Story first appeared on BlackBerryRocks.com -
As Research in Motion is geared up to bring its all new Blackberry 10 out of the closet with the next-generation Operating System, the question crops up whether users will relish the avant-garde experience that the smart phone company has been claiming. The sleek, trendy phone which is about to get launched on the 30th of March has let go of one of the most significant aspects which reigned the cellular cosmos till now- the Home Icon.
The first look at the Blackberry 10 software gives a peek into its transformed countenance in a plethora of ways, while delving deeper into the technology unveils a distinguished element which had remained an enigma to its users.
Donny Halliwell of RIM at a recent discussion on the Blackberry blog quipped about its cutting-edge User Interface which, contrary to the Android and iOS does not embrace any Home button. According to Halliwell, why go back when you are always encouraged to move forward in life? This forms the very quintessence of the new technology of purging out the Home Button’s essential function of taking you back to the central Home screen which entails all functions brought under one roof from any other location of the Operating System.
So what substitutes the Home function? It is the “Flow” interface, a maverick creation which enables users to get to all important applications directly with all the icons readily available in a minimized state. Hence, just like the Web Operating System, you will enjoy the convenience of having all the opened tabs that you visit frequently in a minimized windows manner, thereby doing away with the need of going back to the Home Screen to go to some other destination. As Halliwell puts it, the Flow interface is similar to the flow of life which moves systematically forward and does not allow you to return to the days or bygone times. Therefore, with the “Flow”, you can get a peek into other opened applications seamlessly without returning to the Home Page or leaving the application you are browsing.
A number of features embrace the new “Flow User Interface” which has been designed in a way to encourage multi-tasking. The unique features include a combined Inbox for general as well as social media messaging, a tab “Peek” which gives you a peek into your personal information and “Cascades” which denotes a premier User Interface aspect. The last feature comes quite close to its web Operating System counterpart.
So the world waits with bated breath for the launch of the two next-generation smartphones designed by RIM’s creative clout in the form of Blackberry X10 and Blackberry Z10, along with their all new counterpart Blackberry OS 10, this January 30th. It is true that all the above features appears quite promising and enticing as well, but it remains to be seen whether mobile buffs will actually find the Flow user-friendly and convenient to make the much coveted Blackberry 10 a matter of pride for RIM and encourage developers and designers to don their creative hat and write new applications for the new mobile platform.
Showing posts with label BlackBerry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BlackBerry. Show all posts
Monday, March 4, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
RIM hits the reset button on BlackBerry
Story first appeared on USA Today
Research In Motion is no more.
RIM, the struggling Canadian phone maker that introduced the world to the notion of 24-hour work e-mail, hit the reset button on its identity and operation Wednesday by overhauling its product lineup and changing the name to its more commonly known brand, BlackBerry.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins took the stage in New York and revealed the BlackBerry 10 line, including a new mobile operating system and two new smartphones that are aimed at competing with Apple's iPhone and other high-end devices that run on the Android or Windows operating systems. BlackBerry Z10 is a 4.2-inch touch-screen smartphone, while Q10 comes with a physical keyboard that BlackBerry loyalists are reluctant to give up.
The new products are the result of a company resuscitation strategy undertaken by Heins, who was hired about a year ago, to ensure its viability. With bearish investors fearing that it may not survive, its stock has plummeted 74% since the beginning of 2011.
"We have definitely been on a journey of transformation," Heins said. "I know innovation is at the heart of RIM."
In changing its name to BlackBerry — a long overdue move, as most already associate RIM with the catchy brand name — the company will change its stock ticker symbol from "RIMM" to "BBRY" on Monday.
BlackBerry 10, which now becomes the fourth major mobile operating system in the U.S., has features that are familiar to users of Android and Apple's iOS, including icon tiles for apps.
But it also introduces an array of unique tools. BlackBerry Hub is the central interface for receiving all types of messages, including e-mail, Facebook updates and Twitter messages. BlackBerry Peek is a feature that allows users to swipe the screen to quickly check e-mail or social media while watching a video.
BlackBerry Balance lets businesses keep work data separate and secure from home data. BlackBerry Remember is a series of folders for managing content. BlackBerry Story Maker is for combining photos and video to create personalized films.
BlackBerry will have to hustle to catch up to competitors in content. BlackBerry World, its content store, currently hosts 70,000 apps vs. hundreds of thousands in both iOS and Android. The company pointed out that many popular apps are now available or coming soon, including Skype, MLB, Dropbox, Angry Birds Star Wars and Where's My Water?
Heins says all eight major studios and major music labels have signed on to add music and video to BlackBerry World.
"They delivered on the promises that Heins made," says Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg. "There's more than enough here for consumers to be satisfied. They have to continue that momentum and overcome the perception that there might be an app missing."
Z10 will be available on three major U.S. wireless carriers — AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile — starting next month.
Only Sprint has committed to selling the Q10 so far. BlackBerry said the model will be available in April. The decision to add a keyboard to Q10 — with a 3.1-inch AMOLED touch-screen display — was driven largely by consumer reaction. "We heard you loud and clear," Heins said. "We built this for all those people (who) said we just have to have a physical keyboarding experience."
To enhance its hip quotient, BlackBerry also named singer Alicia Keys as its global creative director. "We're exclusively dating again, and I'm very happy," she said.
Research In Motion is no more.
RIM, the struggling Canadian phone maker that introduced the world to the notion of 24-hour work e-mail, hit the reset button on its identity and operation Wednesday by overhauling its product lineup and changing the name to its more commonly known brand, BlackBerry.
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins took the stage in New York and revealed the BlackBerry 10 line, including a new mobile operating system and two new smartphones that are aimed at competing with Apple's iPhone and other high-end devices that run on the Android or Windows operating systems. BlackBerry Z10 is a 4.2-inch touch-screen smartphone, while Q10 comes with a physical keyboard that BlackBerry loyalists are reluctant to give up.
The new products are the result of a company resuscitation strategy undertaken by Heins, who was hired about a year ago, to ensure its viability. With bearish investors fearing that it may not survive, its stock has plummeted 74% since the beginning of 2011.
"We have definitely been on a journey of transformation," Heins said. "I know innovation is at the heart of RIM."
In changing its name to BlackBerry — a long overdue move, as most already associate RIM with the catchy brand name — the company will change its stock ticker symbol from "RIMM" to "BBRY" on Monday.
BlackBerry 10, which now becomes the fourth major mobile operating system in the U.S., has features that are familiar to users of Android and Apple's iOS, including icon tiles for apps.
But it also introduces an array of unique tools. BlackBerry Hub is the central interface for receiving all types of messages, including e-mail, Facebook updates and Twitter messages. BlackBerry Peek is a feature that allows users to swipe the screen to quickly check e-mail or social media while watching a video.
BlackBerry Balance lets businesses keep work data separate and secure from home data. BlackBerry Remember is a series of folders for managing content. BlackBerry Story Maker is for combining photos and video to create personalized films.
BlackBerry will have to hustle to catch up to competitors in content. BlackBerry World, its content store, currently hosts 70,000 apps vs. hundreds of thousands in both iOS and Android. The company pointed out that many popular apps are now available or coming soon, including Skype, MLB, Dropbox, Angry Birds Star Wars and Where's My Water?
Heins says all eight major studios and major music labels have signed on to add music and video to BlackBerry World.
"They delivered on the promises that Heins made," says Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg. "There's more than enough here for consumers to be satisfied. They have to continue that momentum and overcome the perception that there might be an app missing."
Z10 will be available on three major U.S. wireless carriers — AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile — starting next month.
Only Sprint has committed to selling the Q10 so far. BlackBerry said the model will be available in April. The decision to add a keyboard to Q10 — with a 3.1-inch AMOLED touch-screen display — was driven largely by consumer reaction. "We heard you loud and clear," Heins said. "We built this for all those people (who) said we just have to have a physical keyboarding experience."
To enhance its hip quotient, BlackBerry also named singer Alicia Keys as its global creative director. "We're exclusively dating again, and I'm very happy," she said.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
RIM on the Ropes
Story first appeared on NPR.
President Barack Obama couldn't bear to part with his BlackBerry. Oprah Winfrey declared it one of her "favorite things." It could be so addictive that it was nicknamed "the CrackBerry."
Then came a new generation of competing smartphones, and suddenly the BlackBerry, that game-changing breakthrough in personal connectedness, looks ancient.
There is even talk that the fate of Research In Motion, the company that fathered the BlackBerry in 1999, is no longer certain as its flagship property rapidly loses market share to flashier phones like Apple's iPhone and Google's Android-driven models.
With more than $2 billion in cash, bankruptcy for RIM seems highly unlikely in the near term, but these are troubling times for Waterloo, Ontario, the town of 100,000 that was transformed by the BlackBerry into Canada's Silicon Valley. RIM is Canada's most valuable technology company, an international icon so prestigious that the founder and its other driving force, are on an official government list of national heroes, alongside the likes of Alexander Graham Bell.
RIM's U.S. share of the smartphone market belly-flopped from 44 percent in 2009 to 10 percent in 2011 according to market researcher NPD Group. The company still has 78 million active subscribers across the globe, but last month RIM issued a warning that it will lose money for the second consecutive quarter, will lay off workers this year, and has hired a team of bankers to help it weigh its options. Last July it slashed 2,000 jobs.
Of RIM's 16,500 remaining employees, 7,500 live in Waterloo, a university town 90 minutes' drive from Toronto, where everyone seems to know someone who works for RIM.
The decline of the BlackBerry has come shockingly fast. Just five years ago, when the first iPhone came out, few thought it could threaten the BlackBerry. Now the Chief Executive says his employees are getting asked all the time, 'What's going on with you guys? What happened? I mean RIM is the star of Canada and what happened to you guys? And how bad is it going to go?'
RIM's software is still focused on email, and is less user-friendly and agile than iPhone or Android. Its attempt at touch screens was a flop, and it lacks the apps that power other smartphones. Its tablet, the PlayBook, registered just 500,000 sales to Apple's 11.8 million in the last quarter despite a price cut from $500 to $200, well below cost.
RIM's hopes now hang on BlackBerry 10, a new operating system set to debut later this year. It's thoroughly redesigned for the new multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers are now demanding.
The CEO, formerly RIM's chief operating officer, says he can turn things around with BlackBerry. He took over in January after the company lost tens of billions in market value and the founder stepped down along with the co-CEO.
RIM was once Canada's most valuable company with a market value of $83 billion in June 2008, but the stock has plummeted since, from over $140 share to around $10. Its decline is evoking memories of Nortel, another Canadian tech giant, which ended up declaring bankruptcy in 2009.
But Waterloo is home to more than 800 tech companies and is certainly no company town, many here insist. Smaller firms like e-learning company Desire2Learn have doubled their head count in the last year, and Google has opened an office here.
The chairman of the Center for International Governance and Innovation, a Waterloo-based think tank, likens Waterloo to Rochester, New York, where the blow of Kodak's bankruptcy filing is cushioned by the network of startups the company helped to spawn.
They've taken an enormous hit because of the collapse of Kodak, and Waterloo will take an enormous hit assuming that RIM ultimately vanishes from the scene, but the overall economy and region has been so fundamentally changed by RIM that it will actually do very well.
In an interview with The Associated Press at RIM headquarters in Waterloo, the CEO said he won't try to compete head-to-head with Apple but will try to build on RIM's strengths, such as its dominance of the corporate smartphone market. RIM says more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use BlackBerry and that more than a million North American government workers rely on BlackBerry's software security.
But he acknowledges RIM failed to quickly adapt to the emerging bring your own device trend, in which employees bring their personal iPhones or Android devices to work instead of relying on BlackBerrys issued by their employers.
That's where BlackBerry 10 comes in — delayed but not too late to vie with the new Apple iPhone expected this fall, or so the company hopes. At the end of the day if the product is good you can always come back.
Other tech companies have indeed recovered from the ropes. The late Steve Jobs said Apple was less than three months away from bankruptcy when he rejoined it in 1997, and it's now the world's most valuable company.
President Barack Obama couldn't bear to part with his BlackBerry. Oprah Winfrey declared it one of her "favorite things." It could be so addictive that it was nicknamed "the CrackBerry."
Then came a new generation of competing smartphones, and suddenly the BlackBerry, that game-changing breakthrough in personal connectedness, looks ancient.
There is even talk that the fate of Research In Motion, the company that fathered the BlackBerry in 1999, is no longer certain as its flagship property rapidly loses market share to flashier phones like Apple's iPhone and Google's Android-driven models.
With more than $2 billion in cash, bankruptcy for RIM seems highly unlikely in the near term, but these are troubling times for Waterloo, Ontario, the town of 100,000 that was transformed by the BlackBerry into Canada's Silicon Valley. RIM is Canada's most valuable technology company, an international icon so prestigious that the founder and its other driving force, are on an official government list of national heroes, alongside the likes of Alexander Graham Bell.
RIM's U.S. share of the smartphone market belly-flopped from 44 percent in 2009 to 10 percent in 2011 according to market researcher NPD Group. The company still has 78 million active subscribers across the globe, but last month RIM issued a warning that it will lose money for the second consecutive quarter, will lay off workers this year, and has hired a team of bankers to help it weigh its options. Last July it slashed 2,000 jobs.
Of RIM's 16,500 remaining employees, 7,500 live in Waterloo, a university town 90 minutes' drive from Toronto, where everyone seems to know someone who works for RIM.
The decline of the BlackBerry has come shockingly fast. Just five years ago, when the first iPhone came out, few thought it could threaten the BlackBerry. Now the Chief Executive says his employees are getting asked all the time, 'What's going on with you guys? What happened? I mean RIM is the star of Canada and what happened to you guys? And how bad is it going to go?'
RIM's software is still focused on email, and is less user-friendly and agile than iPhone or Android. Its attempt at touch screens was a flop, and it lacks the apps that power other smartphones. Its tablet, the PlayBook, registered just 500,000 sales to Apple's 11.8 million in the last quarter despite a price cut from $500 to $200, well below cost.
RIM's hopes now hang on BlackBerry 10, a new operating system set to debut later this year. It's thoroughly redesigned for the new multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers are now demanding.
The CEO, formerly RIM's chief operating officer, says he can turn things around with BlackBerry. He took over in January after the company lost tens of billions in market value and the founder stepped down along with the co-CEO.
RIM was once Canada's most valuable company with a market value of $83 billion in June 2008, but the stock has plummeted since, from over $140 share to around $10. Its decline is evoking memories of Nortel, another Canadian tech giant, which ended up declaring bankruptcy in 2009.
But Waterloo is home to more than 800 tech companies and is certainly no company town, many here insist. Smaller firms like e-learning company Desire2Learn have doubled their head count in the last year, and Google has opened an office here.
The chairman of the Center for International Governance and Innovation, a Waterloo-based think tank, likens Waterloo to Rochester, New York, where the blow of Kodak's bankruptcy filing is cushioned by the network of startups the company helped to spawn.
They've taken an enormous hit because of the collapse of Kodak, and Waterloo will take an enormous hit assuming that RIM ultimately vanishes from the scene, but the overall economy and region has been so fundamentally changed by RIM that it will actually do very well.
In an interview with The Associated Press at RIM headquarters in Waterloo, the CEO said he won't try to compete head-to-head with Apple but will try to build on RIM's strengths, such as its dominance of the corporate smartphone market. RIM says more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use BlackBerry and that more than a million North American government workers rely on BlackBerry's software security.
But he acknowledges RIM failed to quickly adapt to the emerging bring your own device trend, in which employees bring their personal iPhones or Android devices to work instead of relying on BlackBerrys issued by their employers.
That's where BlackBerry 10 comes in — delayed but not too late to vie with the new Apple iPhone expected this fall, or so the company hopes. At the end of the day if the product is good you can always come back.
Other tech companies have indeed recovered from the ropes. The late Steve Jobs said Apple was less than three months away from bankruptcy when he rejoined it in 1997, and it's now the world's most valuable company.
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Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Don't Sell Your Old Smartphone
Story first appeared in The Detroit Free Press.
Thinking of selling your smartphone or laptop computer? If you have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, go right ahead.
If you were planning to sell an Android phone or a computer running Windows XP, however, you may want to think again, according to a McAfee identify theft expert.
The expert recently purchased 30 electronic devices from Craigslist -- mostly smartphones and laptops -- to see how effective normal people are at removing personal information from their gadgets before selling them.
After he got the devices home he, did some digging around in the phones and computers himself and then sent the machines to a forensics expert to see what personal data he might glean.
Fifteen devices revealed no information about the previous owner's identity, no matter how thoroughly the experts looked. But as for those other 15 devices -- they coughed up plenty of private data.
The expert was able to get bank account information, Social Security numbers, court documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data off those devices with not much effort.
And the worst part? Most of those devices had already been "wiped" by their previous owner -- meaning all personal files had been deleted and the user had restored the device's factory settings as per the manufacturer's instructions. The data is still there after following manufacturer protocol.
So, what's the difference between the devices that still reveal personal information after being wiped and those that don't?
It came down to the type of device that was sold and what kind of operating system it was running.
BlackBerrys were totally impenetrable. Resetting to factory settings on a Blackberry totally wiped any and all personal data from the machine. Similarly, he was unable to get data off devices running iOS such as the iPad and the iPhone. Devices running Windows 7 that are wiped by their owners also got his vote of confidence.
As for smartphones running the Android system and computers running Windows XP, it is recommended that people don't sell them at all.
You don't want to sell your identity for $50. Either put the device in storage indefinitely, or put holes in the hard drive to make certain that the information cannot be pulled.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
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Thinking of selling your smartphone or laptop computer? If you have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, go right ahead.
If you were planning to sell an Android phone or a computer running Windows XP, however, you may want to think again, according to a McAfee identify theft expert.
The expert recently purchased 30 electronic devices from Craigslist -- mostly smartphones and laptops -- to see how effective normal people are at removing personal information from their gadgets before selling them.
After he got the devices home he, did some digging around in the phones and computers himself and then sent the machines to a forensics expert to see what personal data he might glean.
Fifteen devices revealed no information about the previous owner's identity, no matter how thoroughly the experts looked. But as for those other 15 devices -- they coughed up plenty of private data.
The expert was able to get bank account information, Social Security numbers, court documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data off those devices with not much effort.
And the worst part? Most of those devices had already been "wiped" by their previous owner -- meaning all personal files had been deleted and the user had restored the device's factory settings as per the manufacturer's instructions. The data is still there after following manufacturer protocol.
So, what's the difference between the devices that still reveal personal information after being wiped and those that don't?
It came down to the type of device that was sold and what kind of operating system it was running.
BlackBerrys were totally impenetrable. Resetting to factory settings on a Blackberry totally wiped any and all personal data from the machine. Similarly, he was unable to get data off devices running iOS such as the iPad and the iPhone. Devices running Windows 7 that are wiped by their owners also got his vote of confidence.
As for smartphones running the Android system and computers running Windows XP, it is recommended that people don't sell them at all.
You don't want to sell your identity for $50. Either put the device in storage indefinitely, or put holes in the hard drive to make certain that the information cannot be pulled.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Monday, August 1, 2011
IS BLACKBERRY A DINOSAUR
Story first appeared in USA TODAY.
With this week's announcement that Research in Motion is cutting 10 percent of its workforce, the BlackBerry death watch moved into high gear.
The smartphone that's been a corporate status symbol for more than a decade faces a rapidly declining market share amid new competition, while the company has suffered a series of missteps in both strategy and execution.
Even the management shakeup announced on Monday wasn't what Wall Street had been hoping for. RIM's stock is down more than 50 percent this year.
With Apple's iPhone and smartphones based on Google's Android operating system stealing RIM's thunder in both the consumer and corporate spaces, the BlackBerry's outlook appears grim.
One analyst says surviving in the context of being a formidable force across the industry as it was in its glorious days is not going to happen.
That doesn't mean all is lost for RIM and the BlackBerry platform. It's still wildly popular in international markets, and smartphones powered by a new operating system are coming next year.
But analysts say the company needs to act quickly and effectively, which it's had a hard time accomplishing over the past several years.
Judging from the numbers, it's obvious that fewer people want BlackBerrys.
According to market research firm comScore, RIM held 24.7 percent of smartphone subscribers in the three-month period ending in May, down 17 percent from a year ago.
In the corporate market, traditionally RIM's bread and butter, IT departments are increasingly allowing individual users to choose their own mobile devices, and more of them are choosing iPhones.
The company has taken notice. RIM is set to unveil smartphones based on version 7 of the BlackBerry operating system.
But critics have long complained that BlackBerry OS has gotten long in the tooth, especially compared with sophisticated platforms like Android and Apple's iOS.
Next year, RIM will unveil BlackBerry devices based on QNX, the operating system that powers RIM's PlayBook tablet. QNX promises to deliver performance and features that better compete with iOS and high-end Android devices.
But RIM has been snakebitten by a series of execution missteps, including product delays and releasing new devices that seem half-baked, such as the PlayBook's curious lack of built-in e-mail capabilities.
Most alarming to Wall Street, there's a sense of sluggishness in a company that operates in a rapidly changing industry.
One analyst stated that with QNX they have a real next-gen operating system. He added that those phones that come out next year will be much more competitive with the high end of the market.
But Doradla, who maintains a "Hold" rating on RIM shares, says there's little reason to be excited about the BlackBerry platform in the near term.
He says the question is between now and early next year when the QNX comes in, what is holding a customer to stick with a BlackBerry phone
Dominance Lost
Despite the near-term gloom, analysts point out there are factors that work in RIM's favor.
Although BlackBerry smartphones are falling out of favor in the United States, they're still wildly popular overseas.
Also, businesses have made significant investments in BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, so they're not likely to abandon the platform completely.
McCourt sees the corporate market playing out as a duopoly with BlackBerry and the iPhone. Doradla points out that given RIM's strong presence in corporate enterprises, the company is likely to remain viable in the long term.
Earlier this year, RIM opened its BlackBerry Enterprise Server to enable support for iPhone and Android smartphones, enabling IT departments to centrally manage those devices on a single system. The move addresses the reality that more organizations are supporting multiple mobile platforms.
But Mark McKechnie, an analyst at ThinkEquity, believes the company needs to go farther by opening up its network operations center, or NOC, to other smartphone platforms.
He says they've created this great infrastructure that all the corporations use to secure their e-mails. They collect about $5 per month per subscriber. But if you're going to have a problem competitively with your handsets, then that asset—the NOC—is a declining asset, he added
In a recent research note, McKechnie said that of ThinkEquity's $6 earnings-per-share estimate for fiscal year 2013, $4.25 comes from NOC recurring revenue, $1.75 from the handset business.
McKechnie says you could still have RIM be a niche supplier to the BlackBerry servers, but the market's a heck of a lot bigger when you start throwing in the Apples and the Androids and whatever other technologies people want to bring in from their homes and run on the corporate network.
The fall from being the dominant provider to a niche player is nothing new in the technology industry. But analysts say in RIM's case, it's a situation that could have been avoided.
All in all, these were big strategic mistakes that were made years ago and now they're feeling the pain. Ironically they've figured that out now, but it takes a few years for the new strategy to take hold. They probably don't have more than two years to re-engage the high end of the market before their brand is permanently damaged here.
With this week's announcement that Research in Motion is cutting 10 percent of its workforce, the BlackBerry death watch moved into high gear.
The smartphone that's been a corporate status symbol for more than a decade faces a rapidly declining market share amid new competition, while the company has suffered a series of missteps in both strategy and execution.
Even the management shakeup announced on Monday wasn't what Wall Street had been hoping for. RIM's stock is down more than 50 percent this year.
With Apple's iPhone and smartphones based on Google's Android operating system stealing RIM's thunder in both the consumer and corporate spaces, the BlackBerry's outlook appears grim.
One analyst says surviving in the context of being a formidable force across the industry as it was in its glorious days is not going to happen.
That doesn't mean all is lost for RIM and the BlackBerry platform. It's still wildly popular in international markets, and smartphones powered by a new operating system are coming next year.
But analysts say the company needs to act quickly and effectively, which it's had a hard time accomplishing over the past several years.
Judging from the numbers, it's obvious that fewer people want BlackBerrys.
According to market research firm comScore, RIM held 24.7 percent of smartphone subscribers in the three-month period ending in May, down 17 percent from a year ago.
In the corporate market, traditionally RIM's bread and butter, IT departments are increasingly allowing individual users to choose their own mobile devices, and more of them are choosing iPhones.
The company has taken notice. RIM is set to unveil smartphones based on version 7 of the BlackBerry operating system.
But critics have long complained that BlackBerry OS has gotten long in the tooth, especially compared with sophisticated platforms like Android and Apple's iOS.
Next year, RIM will unveil BlackBerry devices based on QNX, the operating system that powers RIM's PlayBook tablet. QNX promises to deliver performance and features that better compete with iOS and high-end Android devices.
But RIM has been snakebitten by a series of execution missteps, including product delays and releasing new devices that seem half-baked, such as the PlayBook's curious lack of built-in e-mail capabilities.
Most alarming to Wall Street, there's a sense of sluggishness in a company that operates in a rapidly changing industry.
One analyst stated that with QNX they have a real next-gen operating system. He added that those phones that come out next year will be much more competitive with the high end of the market.
But Doradla, who maintains a "Hold" rating on RIM shares, says there's little reason to be excited about the BlackBerry platform in the near term.
He says the question is between now and early next year when the QNX comes in, what is holding a customer to stick with a BlackBerry phone
Dominance Lost
Despite the near-term gloom, analysts point out there are factors that work in RIM's favor.
Although BlackBerry smartphones are falling out of favor in the United States, they're still wildly popular overseas.
Also, businesses have made significant investments in BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, so they're not likely to abandon the platform completely.
McCourt sees the corporate market playing out as a duopoly with BlackBerry and the iPhone. Doradla points out that given RIM's strong presence in corporate enterprises, the company is likely to remain viable in the long term.
Earlier this year, RIM opened its BlackBerry Enterprise Server to enable support for iPhone and Android smartphones, enabling IT departments to centrally manage those devices on a single system. The move addresses the reality that more organizations are supporting multiple mobile platforms.
But Mark McKechnie, an analyst at ThinkEquity, believes the company needs to go farther by opening up its network operations center, or NOC, to other smartphone platforms.
He says they've created this great infrastructure that all the corporations use to secure their e-mails. They collect about $5 per month per subscriber. But if you're going to have a problem competitively with your handsets, then that asset—the NOC—is a declining asset, he added
In a recent research note, McKechnie said that of ThinkEquity's $6 earnings-per-share estimate for fiscal year 2013, $4.25 comes from NOC recurring revenue, $1.75 from the handset business.
McKechnie says you could still have RIM be a niche supplier to the BlackBerry servers, but the market's a heck of a lot bigger when you start throwing in the Apples and the Androids and whatever other technologies people want to bring in from their homes and run on the corporate network.
The fall from being the dominant provider to a niche player is nothing new in the technology industry. But analysts say in RIM's case, it's a situation that could have been avoided.
All in all, these were big strategic mistakes that were made years ago and now they're feeling the pain. Ironically they've figured that out now, but it takes a few years for the new strategy to take hold. They probably don't have more than two years to re-engage the high end of the market before their brand is permanently damaged here.
Monday, June 13, 2011
BLACKBERRY MAKER STRUGGLING
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. is already struggling to keep up with rivals such as Apple Inc. The phones, that use a reputable injection molding company, now it faces another challenge: dissident shareholders who are calling for changes in how the company is run.
A Canadian investment firm is calling for RIM to separate the roles of CEO and chairman, saying that's vital for the board to be able to do its job. Shareholder-rights groups often support separating the two positions. A board of directors is tasked with overseeing the CEO, which can be difficult if the CEO is also chairman of the board.
The firm, Northwest & Ethical Investments, is also asking that the company require any future board chairmen to be independent from the company, which essentially means that they cannot be RIM employees.
Shareholders will vote on NEI's proposal at the annual meeting July 12 in RIM's hometown of Waterloo, Ontario.
RIM has an unusual leadership structure, where two executives, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, serve as both co-CEOs and co-chairmen. The company is asking shareholders to vote against NEI's proposal, saying that the board's lead independent director serves many of the functions that a chairman would.
Balsillie and Lazaridis have long histories at the company.
In 2009, they settled allegations with the SEC and the Ontario Securities Commission about stock options that had allegedly been backdated. As part of the settlement, Balsillie agreed to step down from the board for about a year and use a cheap dell laptop.
In March, RIM reported higher revenue and net income for the fiscal year ended Feb. 26. But in April, it cut its predictions for future earnings and sales, saying it's selling fewer and cheaper phones than it had expected. BlackBerrys are known for their security and reliability as email devices, but they haven't kept pace with Apple's iPhones or phones based on Google Inc.'s Android software when it comes to running third-party applications.
Since the beginning of the year, RIM's stock has fallen 37 percent to $36.56.
RIM will report earnings for the fiscal first quarter on Thursday.
A Canadian investment firm is calling for RIM to separate the roles of CEO and chairman, saying that's vital for the board to be able to do its job. Shareholder-rights groups often support separating the two positions. A board of directors is tasked with overseeing the CEO, which can be difficult if the CEO is also chairman of the board.
The firm, Northwest & Ethical Investments, is also asking that the company require any future board chairmen to be independent from the company, which essentially means that they cannot be RIM employees.
Shareholders will vote on NEI's proposal at the annual meeting July 12 in RIM's hometown of Waterloo, Ontario.
RIM has an unusual leadership structure, where two executives, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, serve as both co-CEOs and co-chairmen. The company is asking shareholders to vote against NEI's proposal, saying that the board's lead independent director serves many of the functions that a chairman would.
Balsillie and Lazaridis have long histories at the company.
In 2009, they settled allegations with the SEC and the Ontario Securities Commission about stock options that had allegedly been backdated. As part of the settlement, Balsillie agreed to step down from the board for about a year and use a cheap dell laptop.
In March, RIM reported higher revenue and net income for the fiscal year ended Feb. 26. But in April, it cut its predictions for future earnings and sales, saying it's selling fewer and cheaper phones than it had expected. BlackBerrys are known for their security and reliability as email devices, but they haven't kept pace with Apple's iPhones or phones based on Google Inc.'s Android software when it comes to running third-party applications.
Since the beginning of the year, RIM's stock has fallen 37 percent to $36.56.
RIM will report earnings for the fiscal first quarter on Thursday.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Android Revolution May Overwhelm BlackBerry
PC World
The Android army may soon claim Research In Motion's BlackBerry as its first victim in the smartphone war. Between July and September, 44 percent of new smartphone users in the United States bought a Google Android phone, according to market research firm NPD Group. During the same period, 23 percent of the users bought an iOS device and 22 percent purchased a BlackBerry. NPD's report is another sign of Android's growing market power, and RIM's dramatic decline. But the battle for smartphone supremacy is far from over, and it's unclear whether Android can continue its impressive growth.
Android by the Numbers
Android outsold RIM by 2-to-1 and nearly did the same to Apple's iOS during the third quarter. Devices based on Google's smartphone OS increased by 11 percentage points in comparison to the second quarter of 2010, while RIM fell by 6 points and Apple rose by 1, according to NPD.
What is most stunning, however, is NPD's assertion that RIM's market share among new smartphone users in the U.S. fell by 53 percent when compared with the third quarter of 2009. NPD failed to mention how much Android rose or fell compared with those numbers, but the research firm said Apple's iOS also fell by 21 percent in that quarter.
Android Isn't the Top Device
Despite Android's growing strength overall, NPD found that Apple's iPhone 4 was the most popular mobile phone purchased by new users. BlackBerry Curve 8500 series devices came in second, followed by the LG Cosmos (an Internet-capable feature phone). The Android-based Motorola Droid X and HTC Evo 4G came in fourth and fifth.
Android's Long and Winding Road
Android has been the top smartphone OS for several quarters, but it isn't growing fast enough to beat out the iPhone and RIM in terms of overall user adoption. The most recent numbers from the Nielsen Company indicate that Android has 19 percent of all smartphone users in the U.S., while the iPhone has 28 percent and BlackBerry leads the pack with 30 percent adoption overall.
But Android's growth may slow in the next few months as new contenders attempt to take a bite out of the smartphone market. Next Monday, nine Windows Phone 7 devices from Microsoft will go on sale, and new smartphones from HP using an updated version of WebOS are expected to hit the market in early 2011.
If the rumors are to be believed, Apple's iPhone may also extend its reach in 2011 by expanding the popular smartphone to other U.S. carriers.
Smartphone Rising
Nielsen reports that during the most recent quarter 41 percent of new mobile phone buyers in the U.S. opted for a smartphone over a feature phone -- up 6 percentage points from the previous quarter. If that trend continues, expect to see a lot more competition among smartphone manufacturers in the coming months. The big question, however, may not be whether Android can rise to the top spot. But whether RIM can turn around its declining user adoption rates to remain a viable top 5 smartphone manufacturer against a slew of innovative devices from Apple, Google's numerous Android partners, HP and Microsoft.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Apple, Blackberry spar over Smartphone
Sydney Morning Herald
Canada's Research In Motion (RIM) fired back at Apple's Steve Jobs on Tuesday over his claims that the iPhone is outselling the Blackberry and that 18cm tablet computers have no future.
"We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple," RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said in a blog post responding to the comments made on Monday by Jobs.
"For those of us who live outside of Apple's distortion field, we know that seven-inch tablets will actually be a big portion of the market," Balsillie said after Jobs dismissed seven-inch (18cm) tablets as too small.
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Blackberry is developing a touchscreen tablet computer called the PlayBook which features a seven-inch (18cm) screen in a bid to challenge Apple's iPad, which features a nearly 10-inch (25cm) screen.
Jobs, speaking to financial analysts during a conference call on Monday, dismissed seven-inch (18cm) tablets as "tweeners" saying they were "too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad".
He suggested makers of seven-inch screens "include sandpaper so users can sand down their fingers" to be able to tap onscreen keys.
Balsillie struck back with criticism of Apple's refusal to allow Adobe's Flash video to play on the iPad.
"We know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want a real Web experience," he said.
"We also know that while Apple's attempt to control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access the overwhelming majority of websites that use Flash."
During his earnings call, Jobs also said that the iPhone "handily" outsold BlackBerry during the quarter and he didn't see the RIM handsets catching up any time soon.
Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones during the quarter, up 91 per cent from a year ago.
"RIM has achieved record shipments for five consecutive quarters and recently shared guidance of 13.8 to 14.4 million BlackBerry smartphones for the current quarter," Balsillie said.
"Apple's preference to compare its September-ending quarter with RIM's August-ending quarter doesn't tell the whole story because it doesn't take into account that industry demand in September is typically stronger," he said.
"As usual, whether the subject is antennas, Flash or shipments, there is more to the story and sooner or later, even people inside the distortion field will begin to resent being told half a story," the RIM co-CEO said.
"We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple," RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said in a blog post responding to the comments made on Monday by Jobs.
"For those of us who live outside of Apple's distortion field, we know that seven-inch tablets will actually be a big portion of the market," Balsillie said after Jobs dismissed seven-inch (18cm) tablets as too small.
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Blackberry is developing a touchscreen tablet computer called the PlayBook which features a seven-inch (18cm) screen in a bid to challenge Apple's iPad, which features a nearly 10-inch (25cm) screen.
Jobs, speaking to financial analysts during a conference call on Monday, dismissed seven-inch (18cm) tablets as "tweeners" saying they were "too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad".
He suggested makers of seven-inch screens "include sandpaper so users can sand down their fingers" to be able to tap onscreen keys.
Balsillie struck back with criticism of Apple's refusal to allow Adobe's Flash video to play on the iPad.
"We know that Adobe Flash support actually matters to customers who want a real Web experience," he said.
"We also know that while Apple's attempt to control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access the overwhelming majority of websites that use Flash."
During his earnings call, Jobs also said that the iPhone "handily" outsold BlackBerry during the quarter and he didn't see the RIM handsets catching up any time soon.
Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones during the quarter, up 91 per cent from a year ago.
"RIM has achieved record shipments for five consecutive quarters and recently shared guidance of 13.8 to 14.4 million BlackBerry smartphones for the current quarter," Balsillie said.
"Apple's preference to compare its September-ending quarter with RIM's August-ending quarter doesn't tell the whole story because it doesn't take into account that industry demand in September is typically stronger," he said.
"As usual, whether the subject is antennas, Flash or shipments, there is more to the story and sooner or later, even people inside the distortion field will begin to resent being told half a story," the RIM co-CEO said.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
BlackBerry PlayBook to take on the iPad
USA Today
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion just unveiled its answer to Apple's iPad -- the BlackBerry Playbook.
The tablet PC is aimed at professionals, who already make up RIM's core market. Here's how it compares to the iPad:
BlackBerry PlayBook
Screen size 7 inches
Weight 0.9 pounds
Thickness 0.4 inches
Storage 1 GB
Connectivity Wi-Fi + cellular through a BlackBerry
Cameras Two (front and back)
Apple iPad (several models available)
Screen size 9.7 inches
Weight 1.5 pounds or 1.6 pounds
Thickness 0.5 inches
Storage 16, 32, or 64 GB
Connectivity Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + cellular through AT&T
Cameras None
Research in Motion showed off the tablet for the first time Monday and is set to launch it early 2011, with an international rollout later in the year. With it RIM is betting on a smaller, lighter device than Apple's iPad, which kicked-started the tablet market when it launched in April.
The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh about to the iPad's. And unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back.
The PlayBook will be able to act as a second, larger screen for a BlackBerry phone, through a secure short-range wireless link. When the connection is severed — perhaps because the user walks away with the phone — no sensitive data like company e-mails are left on the tablet. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.
But the tablet will also work as a standalone device. RIM co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said its goal is to present the full Web experience of a computer, including the ability to display Flash, Adobe Systems's format for video and interactive material on the Web. That means the tablet will be less dependent on third-party applications or "apps," Balsillie said.
"I don't need to download a YouTube app if I've got YouTube on the Web," said Balsillie, who leads the company along with co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resisted allowing Flash on any of the company's mobile gadgets, arguing the software has too many bugs and sucks too much battery life.
"Much of the market has been defined in terms of how you fit the Web to mobility," Balsillie said. "What we're launching is really the first mobile product that is designed to give full Web fidelity."
In part, the PlayBook is a move by RIM to protect its position as the top provider of mobile gadgets for the business set. Balsillie says he has had briefings with company chief information officers and "this is hands-down, slam-dunk what they're looking for."
Analysts agree that RIM's close relationship with its corporate clients could help the company establish a comfortable niche in the tablet market despite Apple's early lead.
"We do think that RIM has a play with enterprise customers because it has established relationships with so many businesses, and its technology is so deeply integrated with their IT departments," IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said.
RIM is using a new operating system, built by QNX Software Systems, which it took over earlier this year, to harness the power of the tablet, but Balsillie said it will run existing apps for BlackBerry phones.
IDC predicts that the corporate market for tablet computers will grow as a portion of overall sales over the next few years. The firm forecasts that roughly 11% of overall tablet shipments, or 6.5 million units, will be to businesses, government agencies or schools by 2014. That would be up from just 2%, or 300,000 units, this year. And that figure doesn't count those who buy tablet computers on their own and use them for work.
RIM doesn't want the PlayBook to be just for work — the company invited video game maker Electronic Arts to help introduce the Playbook at an event in San Francisco on Monday — but it's clear that its advantages will lie in the work arena.
The iPad has prompted a wave of competitors, so RIM won't be alone going after the tablet market. Computer maker Dell came out with its own tablet computer in August called the Streak. Samsung Electronics plans to launch the Galaxy Tab next month and has already lined up all four major U.S. carriers to sell it and provide wireless service for it. Cisco Systems is also going after business customers with a tablet called the Cius early next year.
The PlayBook will have a 7-inch screen, making it half the size of the iPad, and weigh about to the iPad's. And unlike the iPad, it will have two cameras, front and back.
The PlayBook will be able to act as a second, larger screen for a BlackBerry phone, through a secure short-range wireless link. When the connection is severed — perhaps because the user walks away with the phone — no sensitive data like company e-mails are left on the tablet. Outside of Wi-Fi range, it will be able to pick up cellular service to access the Web by linking to a BlackBerry.
But the tablet will also work as a standalone device. RIM co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said its goal is to present the full Web experience of a computer, including the ability to display Flash, Adobe Systems's format for video and interactive material on the Web. That means the tablet will be less dependent on third-party applications or "apps," Balsillie said.
"I don't need to download a YouTube app if I've got YouTube on the Web," said Balsillie, who leads the company along with co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resisted allowing Flash on any of the company's mobile gadgets, arguing the software has too many bugs and sucks too much battery life.
"Much of the market has been defined in terms of how you fit the Web to mobility," Balsillie said. "What we're launching is really the first mobile product that is designed to give full Web fidelity."
In part, the PlayBook is a move by RIM to protect its position as the top provider of mobile gadgets for the business set. Balsillie says he has had briefings with company chief information officers and "this is hands-down, slam-dunk what they're looking for."
Analysts agree that RIM's close relationship with its corporate clients could help the company establish a comfortable niche in the tablet market despite Apple's early lead.
"We do think that RIM has a play with enterprise customers because it has established relationships with so many businesses, and its technology is so deeply integrated with their IT departments," IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said.
RIM is using a new operating system, built by QNX Software Systems, which it took over earlier this year, to harness the power of the tablet, but Balsillie said it will run existing apps for BlackBerry phones.
IDC predicts that the corporate market for tablet computers will grow as a portion of overall sales over the next few years. The firm forecasts that roughly 11% of overall tablet shipments, or 6.5 million units, will be to businesses, government agencies or schools by 2014. That would be up from just 2%, or 300,000 units, this year. And that figure doesn't count those who buy tablet computers on their own and use them for work.
RIM doesn't want the PlayBook to be just for work — the company invited video game maker Electronic Arts to help introduce the Playbook at an event in San Francisco on Monday — but it's clear that its advantages will lie in the work arena.
The iPad has prompted a wave of competitors, so RIM won't be alone going after the tablet market. Computer maker Dell came out with its own tablet computer in August called the Streak. Samsung Electronics plans to launch the Galaxy Tab next month and has already lined up all four major U.S. carriers to sell it and provide wireless service for it. Cisco Systems is also going after business customers with a tablet called the Cius early next year.
Monday, September 20, 2010
BlackBerry Gets Squeezed by Rivals
The Wall Street Journal
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. posted a surge in quarterly profit and revenue, though it added fewer new subscribers than it had expected amid intensifying competition in the U.S.
RIM said it shipped 12.1 million devices to wireless carriers and stores in its fiscal second quarter, up 45% from a year ago. But the company added 4.5 million net new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter, down from 4.9 million in the preceding quarter. It had expected to add between 4.9 million to 5.2 million accounts in the period.
Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said subscriber growth initially was hurt by competing products entering the market during the summer and by weakness in Middle East markets due to concerns local service could be interrupted due to disputes with governments over security issues.
Mr. Balsillie said RIM remains in discussions with India and the United Arab Emirates to resolve concerns about their inability to monitor encrypted communication over BlackBerrys and is optimistic about a positive resolution.
The Canadian company has long held sway over the corporate market for smartphones. But it is falling behind Apple Inc. and makers of devices based on Google Inc. software in the race to sell high-end phones to consumers. Apple launched its iPhone 4 on June 24, and Verizon Wireless rolled out updates to its Droid line this summer.
RIM launched the Torch, which has a touchsreen and slide-out keypad, with just over two weeks remaining in the quarter, which ended Aug. 28. Mr. Balsillie said the launch was the most successful in the company's history, but he didn't disclose how many units sold.
Analysts have warned that initial sales have been weak. RIM said it expects stronger sales and subscriber gains in the third quarter, when the Torch, which launched exclusively with AT&T Inc., will hit more markets.
Mr. Balsillie said subscriber additions were particularly soft early in the second quarter but strengthened following the release of the Torch and remained stronger in the current quarter.
RIM, however, said it will stop forecasting subscriber additions or disclosing its average selling prices after December—two closely watched gauges of its business.
RIM's failure to keep up with the iPhone and Android devices in the consumer market is starting to erode its hold on business customers, as employees press their companies to let them use their personal devices at work. Over the past year, Apple and Google have been upgrading their software to attract corporate clients.
Research firm IDC expects BlackBerry to lose business market share for the first time this year. IDC forecasts that BlackBerry world-wide will drop to 36.4% from 39.9% last year. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone is expected to rise to 8.7% from 8%, Android is expected to increase to 1.1% from 0.4%, and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows will jump to 27.8% from 25.6%.
"RIM is under a significant threat, and we now expect the contribution to earnings of the corporate segment to shrink going foward," wrote Sanford Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu, which surveyed companies and found nearly three-quarters are preparing to support non-BlackBerry devices.
Staying competitive may require price cuts. In February, RIM released a free version of its enterprise server for small and medium sized businesses. The software only works with Microsoft email software and supports up to 2,000 users with a separate computer server and limited ability to monitor and control phone usage.
Alex Yanez, telecommunications engineer at retailer Patagonia Inc., said RIM has also been cutting its prices of the standard BlackBerry server and software. "The server license and the seat license has come down quite a bit," said Mr. Yanez. Prices "have come down very much."
A RIM spokeswoman wouldn't comment on price cuts.
RIM said it shipped 12.1 million devices to wireless carriers and stores in its fiscal second quarter, up 45% from a year ago. But the company added 4.5 million net new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter, down from 4.9 million in the preceding quarter. It had expected to add between 4.9 million to 5.2 million accounts in the period.
Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said subscriber growth initially was hurt by competing products entering the market during the summer and by weakness in Middle East markets due to concerns local service could be interrupted due to disputes with governments over security issues.
Mr. Balsillie said RIM remains in discussions with India and the United Arab Emirates to resolve concerns about their inability to monitor encrypted communication over BlackBerrys and is optimistic about a positive resolution.
The Canadian company has long held sway over the corporate market for smartphones. But it is falling behind Apple Inc. and makers of devices based on Google Inc. software in the race to sell high-end phones to consumers. Apple launched its iPhone 4 on June 24, and Verizon Wireless rolled out updates to its Droid line this summer.
RIM launched the Torch, which has a touchsreen and slide-out keypad, with just over two weeks remaining in the quarter, which ended Aug. 28. Mr. Balsillie said the launch was the most successful in the company's history, but he didn't disclose how many units sold.
Analysts have warned that initial sales have been weak. RIM said it expects stronger sales and subscriber gains in the third quarter, when the Torch, which launched exclusively with AT&T Inc., will hit more markets.
Mr. Balsillie said subscriber additions were particularly soft early in the second quarter but strengthened following the release of the Torch and remained stronger in the current quarter.
RIM, however, said it will stop forecasting subscriber additions or disclosing its average selling prices after December—two closely watched gauges of its business.
RIM's failure to keep up with the iPhone and Android devices in the consumer market is starting to erode its hold on business customers, as employees press their companies to let them use their personal devices at work. Over the past year, Apple and Google have been upgrading their software to attract corporate clients.
Research firm IDC expects BlackBerry to lose business market share for the first time this year. IDC forecasts that BlackBerry world-wide will drop to 36.4% from 39.9% last year. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone is expected to rise to 8.7% from 8%, Android is expected to increase to 1.1% from 0.4%, and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows will jump to 27.8% from 25.6%.
"RIM is under a significant threat, and we now expect the contribution to earnings of the corporate segment to shrink going foward," wrote Sanford Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu, which surveyed companies and found nearly three-quarters are preparing to support non-BlackBerry devices.
Staying competitive may require price cuts. In February, RIM released a free version of its enterprise server for small and medium sized businesses. The software only works with Microsoft email software and supports up to 2,000 users with a separate computer server and limited ability to monitor and control phone usage.
Alex Yanez, telecommunications engineer at retailer Patagonia Inc., said RIM has also been cutting its prices of the standard BlackBerry server and software. "The server license and the seat license has come down quite a bit," said Mr. Yanez. Prices "have come down very much."
A RIM spokeswoman wouldn't comment on price cuts.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
RIM Short Interest Doubles as BlackBerry Loses Ground to IPhone
Bloomberg
Bets against shares of Research In Motion Ltd. have doubled since April as investors wager the BlackBerry maker’s stock will continue to decline in the face of competition from Apple Inc. and Google Inc.
Short interest in RIM climbed to 31.1 million shares as of Aug. 31, more than double the level on Apr. 15 and the most since June 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors taking short positions borrow and sell a stock, aiming to profit by repaying the borrowed shares at a lower price.
“Everybody is so negative, the short positions continue to grow,” said Buzzy Geduld, chief executive officer of New York hedge fund Cougar Trading. He said he may short or buy the stock after the company’s earnings report today and doesn’t own shares at the moment.
Best known for handsets equipped with a full keyboard, RIM has struggled to create touch-screen devices that can compete with Apple’s iPhone and phones like Motorola Inc.’s Droid that use Google’s Android software. The BlackBerry Torch, a touch- screen model that went on sale last month, has received mixed reviews and generated what analysts say are lukewarm sales.
At the same time, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company faces challenges as it expands in overseas markets and the potential loss of business in its traditional corporate base. Countries such as India and the United Arab Emirates have threatened to ban BlackBerry services over security concerns.
Revenue, Profit Growing
Of 200 companies polled in the U.S. and U.K., 74 percent now let employees use devices other than BlackBerrys, according to an August survey by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, may soon let employees use iPhones or Android phones for corporate e-mail, in place of the BlackBerry, for the first time, two people familiar with the situation said last week.
The stock has dropped 31 percent this year on the Nasdaq Stock Market as Apple has climbed by that percentage. RIM rose 97 cents to $46.49 at 4 p.m. New York time.
Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for RIM, didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
RIM is still boosting revenue and profit as mobile-phone buyers increasingly shift to smartphones that can surf the Web and play videos and music. When the company reports results for the latest quarter today after the close of regular trading, revenue is likely to jump 27 percent to $4.49 billion while net income surges 58 percent to $753 million, according to average estimates from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
‘Losing Mind Share’
Growth in the U.S. is slowing and the company is losing market share globally. RIM’s portion of the worldwide smartphone market slid to 18.2 percent in the second quarter from 19 percent a year earlier as customers opted for devices with larger screens and more applications, according to researcher IDC. Apple’s share rose to 14.2 percent from 13 percent, while Android surged to 17.2 percent from 1.8 percent.
“It feels like RIM is not in touch with what demanding, tech-savvy customers want,” said Nirav Parikh, senior vice president at Los Angeles-based TCW Inc., which manages $110 billion and sold all of its remaining 866,749 RIM shares as of June 30, according to a securities filing.
“They are losing mind share,” he said. “Their international growth is great, however those markets in the next couple of years may follow trends in the U.S., which don’t bode as well for RIM,” said Parikh.
Analyst Downgrades
While 31 of 54 RIM analysts recommend buying the shares, five analysts have downgraded the stock over the past quarter and nine now recommend selling. Among the RIM bears is Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Simona Jankowski, who cut her rating on the stock to “sell” in April and says the Torch didn’t do enough to change her mind.
“They really needed a very high-profile, very successful launch that was a really big hit,” Jankowski said. “That’s how high the bar was and they just didn’t clear it.”
Cougar Trading’s Geduld said he’s waiting to hear the company’s earnings news before deciding how to invest.
“I don’t think it’s quite a short and I don’t think it’s yet a long,” he said. “The real question is what are they going to say about the future.”
Short interest in RIM climbed to 31.1 million shares as of Aug. 31, more than double the level on Apr. 15 and the most since June 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors taking short positions borrow and sell a stock, aiming to profit by repaying the borrowed shares at a lower price.
“Everybody is so negative, the short positions continue to grow,” said Buzzy Geduld, chief executive officer of New York hedge fund Cougar Trading. He said he may short or buy the stock after the company’s earnings report today and doesn’t own shares at the moment.
Best known for handsets equipped with a full keyboard, RIM has struggled to create touch-screen devices that can compete with Apple’s iPhone and phones like Motorola Inc.’s Droid that use Google’s Android software. The BlackBerry Torch, a touch- screen model that went on sale last month, has received mixed reviews and generated what analysts say are lukewarm sales.
At the same time, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company faces challenges as it expands in overseas markets and the potential loss of business in its traditional corporate base. Countries such as India and the United Arab Emirates have threatened to ban BlackBerry services over security concerns.
Revenue, Profit Growing
Of 200 companies polled in the U.S. and U.K., 74 percent now let employees use devices other than BlackBerrys, according to an August survey by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, may soon let employees use iPhones or Android phones for corporate e-mail, in place of the BlackBerry, for the first time, two people familiar with the situation said last week.
The stock has dropped 31 percent this year on the Nasdaq Stock Market as Apple has climbed by that percentage. RIM rose 97 cents to $46.49 at 4 p.m. New York time.
Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for RIM, didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
RIM is still boosting revenue and profit as mobile-phone buyers increasingly shift to smartphones that can surf the Web and play videos and music. When the company reports results for the latest quarter today after the close of regular trading, revenue is likely to jump 27 percent to $4.49 billion while net income surges 58 percent to $753 million, according to average estimates from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
‘Losing Mind Share’
Growth in the U.S. is slowing and the company is losing market share globally. RIM’s portion of the worldwide smartphone market slid to 18.2 percent in the second quarter from 19 percent a year earlier as customers opted for devices with larger screens and more applications, according to researcher IDC. Apple’s share rose to 14.2 percent from 13 percent, while Android surged to 17.2 percent from 1.8 percent.
“It feels like RIM is not in touch with what demanding, tech-savvy customers want,” said Nirav Parikh, senior vice president at Los Angeles-based TCW Inc., which manages $110 billion and sold all of its remaining 866,749 RIM shares as of June 30, according to a securities filing.
“They are losing mind share,” he said. “Their international growth is great, however those markets in the next couple of years may follow trends in the U.S., which don’t bode as well for RIM,” said Parikh.
Analyst Downgrades
While 31 of 54 RIM analysts recommend buying the shares, five analysts have downgraded the stock over the past quarter and nine now recommend selling. Among the RIM bears is Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Simona Jankowski, who cut her rating on the stock to “sell” in April and says the Torch didn’t do enough to change her mind.
“They really needed a very high-profile, very successful launch that was a really big hit,” Jankowski said. “That’s how high the bar was and they just didn’t clear it.”
Cougar Trading’s Geduld said he’s waiting to hear the company’s earnings news before deciding how to invest.
“I don’t think it’s quite a short and I don’t think it’s yet a long,” he said. “The real question is what are they going to say about the future.”
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Secretary of State Clinton in BlackBerry Talks
BBC News
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hold talks with the UAE over the ongoing BlackBerry dispute.
The United Arab Emirates has said it intends to prevent the phones sending e-mails, accessing the internet, and delivering instant messages.
Authorities are unhappy that they are unable to monitor such encrypted communications via the handsets.
Mrs Clinton said authorities had to balance "legitimate security concerns" with "right of free use and access".
"We are taking time to consult and analyse the full the range of interests and issues at stake, because we know that there is a legitimate security concern," Mrs Clinton said.
"But there is also a legitimate right of free use and access.
"So I think we will be pursuing both technical and expert discussions as we go forward," she added.
Scrambled messages
The UAE Telecoms Regulatory Authority said in a statement to BBC News that Blackberry services were "currently the only data services operating in the UAE where data is immediately exported off-shore, where it is managed by a foreign, commercial organisation".
"In their current form, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE."
Mrs Clinton made no mention of other countries which have voiced concerns over the devices.
Saudi Arabia has said it intends to place a ban on a Blackberry-to-Blackberry instant messaging service from 6 August, whilst Lebanon has said it will assess the device.
"This is related to the ability of law enforcement agencies to access the data as may be required by law," he added.
Blackberry handsets automatically scramble messages and send them to computer servers in Canada.
Concerned governments have said they want access to these messages and the keys to decrypt them to counter terrorism and criminal activity.
"We need to make an arrangement with BlackBerry or come to an understanding with them that satisfies law enforcement concerns," Imad Hoballah, the chair of Lebanon's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority told AFP.
Other countries, including India, are also reportedly mulling restrictions over.
The Indian government told the BBC it was in talks with RIM and no final decision had been made.
All of the countries are unhappy that they are unable to monitor communications via the handsets.
This is because the Blackberry handsets automatically encrypts communications and sends them via servers in Canada.
A spokesperson for RIM said earlier in the week that the company's products were "designed to preclude RIM, or any third party, from reading encrypted information under any circumstances since RIM does not store or have access to the encrypted data".
"RIM cannot accommodate any request for a copy of a customer's encryption key, since at no time does RIM, or any wireless network operator or any third party, ever possess a copy of the key."
The United Arab Emirates has said it intends to prevent the phones sending e-mails, accessing the internet, and delivering instant messages.
Authorities are unhappy that they are unable to monitor such encrypted communications via the handsets.
Mrs Clinton said authorities had to balance "legitimate security concerns" with "right of free use and access".
"We are taking time to consult and analyse the full the range of interests and issues at stake, because we know that there is a legitimate security concern," Mrs Clinton said.
"But there is also a legitimate right of free use and access.
"So I think we will be pursuing both technical and expert discussions as we go forward," she added.
Scrambled messages
The UAE Telecoms Regulatory Authority said in a statement to BBC News that Blackberry services were "currently the only data services operating in the UAE where data is immediately exported off-shore, where it is managed by a foreign, commercial organisation".
"In their current form, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE."
Mrs Clinton made no mention of other countries which have voiced concerns over the devices.
Saudi Arabia has said it intends to place a ban on a Blackberry-to-Blackberry instant messaging service from 6 August, whilst Lebanon has said it will assess the device.
"This is related to the ability of law enforcement agencies to access the data as may be required by law," he added.
Blackberry handsets automatically scramble messages and send them to computer servers in Canada.
Concerned governments have said they want access to these messages and the keys to decrypt them to counter terrorism and criminal activity.
"We need to make an arrangement with BlackBerry or come to an understanding with them that satisfies law enforcement concerns," Imad Hoballah, the chair of Lebanon's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority told AFP.
Other countries, including India, are also reportedly mulling restrictions over.
The Indian government told the BBC it was in talks with RIM and no final decision had been made.
All of the countries are unhappy that they are unable to monitor communications via the handsets.
This is because the Blackberry handsets automatically encrypts communications and sends them via servers in Canada.
A spokesperson for RIM said earlier in the week that the company's products were "designed to preclude RIM, or any third party, from reading encrypted information under any circumstances since RIM does not store or have access to the encrypted data".
"RIM cannot accommodate any request for a copy of a customer's encryption key, since at no time does RIM, or any wireless network operator or any third party, ever possess a copy of the key."
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
UAE to Bar BlackBerry E-Mail Over Security Issues
NY Times
The United Arab Emirates, citing security concerns, said Sunday that it would start blocking BlackBerry mobile services like e-mail and text messaging, the latest high-stakes clash between governments and communications providers over the flow of digital information.
The Emirates have been in a long dispute with Research In Motion, the smartphone’s producer, over the BlackBerry’s highly encrypted data system, which offers security to users but makes it more difficult for governments to monitor communications.
The decision could have significant implications for BlackBerry use in the Persian Gulf region, where Saudi Arabia has been closely studying the issue and may follow suit. Other countries, including Kuwait and Bahrain, have also raised concerns.
Disputes involving privacy and censorship have flared more frequently between governments and communications providers as the Internet connects people worldwide. In July, China and Google settled a standoff over access to information. YouTube has been periodically blocked in countries like Turkey and Pakistan, and Pakistan temporarily blocked Facebook in May because of what it called offensive, anti-Islamic content.
Officials of Research In Motion, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, and the company’s outside public relations firm did not respond Sunday to telephone calls and e-mail.
The monitoring of information is a particularly thorny issue for autocratic regimes in the Persian Gulf worried that the Internet might be used for antigovernment purposes — a concern heightened by the passionate online response in Iran to the 2009 presidential election that helped energize the opposition and led to weeks of unrest.
The United Arab Emirates, in particular, were alarmed by the killing in January of a Palestinian operative in a Dubai hotel, possibly by a hit team from the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. The episode infuriated the government, which wants to encourage tourism and business, and heightened its desire for increased electronic surveillance and security.
“The U.A.E. has never been a place that offered much in the way of electronic privacy,” said Jim Krane, author of “City of Gold,” a history of Dubai. “The government makes no secret that it monitors electronic communication, including text messages, phone calls and e-mail. The revelation that secure BlackBerry data is frustratingly out of the government’s reach only confirms this.”
Other smartphones, like the Apple iPhone, are not tied to one e-mail service. In general, that means e-mail to and from the devices mostly travels over the open Internet and can be relatively easily monitored.
But the BlackBerry uses highly encrypted data that is received by wireless carriers’ towers and is immediately routed through a closed, global network operated by the company. To enforce the ban, the carriers will stop forwarding that data.
Because of this level of security, the United States government allows many military and law enforcement employees to send confidential messages by BlackBerry, but it also makes surveillance correspondingly difficult.
As a result, R.I.M. officials have clashed with officials elsewhere in recent years.
In 2008, security agencies in India suggested that BlackBerry service might be shut down there unless R.I.M. installed servers in that country to allow them to intercept messages. The company refused, but sent representatives to meet with the Indian government. Indian regulators, while expressing reservations, have said they have no plans to restrict the service.
Analysts and telecommunications experts also believe that security concerns delayed the arrival of BlackBerry service in China. It is unclear what actions the company took, if any, to alleviate those worries.
There were conflicting reports Sunday about whether Saudi Arabia had also decided to ban the BlackBerry services. Some news agencies cited an interview with a Saudi Telecom official on the Al Arabiya television network that confirmed the decision, but in other Al Arabiya news reports company officials denied the service would be blocked
The Saudi authorities released no official statement, and an adviser to the Saudi government, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said no decision had been made as far as he knew. But one prominent Saudi economist, Ihsan Ali Bu-Hulaiga, said “it seems to me a number of other countries in the region will follow the lead of the U.A.E.” for the same security-related reasons.
In the emirates, concerns are also fueled by the fact that native Emiratis are a minority there, and the government regards electronic surveillance as an important tool against would-be terrorists, swindlers and other potential troublemakers drawn to the country’s relatively unfettered environment.
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates in the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula bordering Saudi Arabia. Among the seven states are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, both economic centers that encourage international trade and discourage financing of radical Islamic movements. Because of this, Mr. Krane suggested, the security concerns are not unfounded.
“The U.A.E. is an open country, a key travel and business hub, with one of the world’s largest airports and airlines,” he said. “It welcomes just about anyone to visit, and even to settle and work. Nationals of many countries don’t even need entry visas. In this environment, the government probably feels that electronic eavesdropping and surveillance are key to maintaining internal security.”
In a statement Sunday, a government body in the Emirates, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, said officials were prepared to block BlackBerry data service beginning Oct. 11 because it was the only service in the Emirates that exported mobile data to servers outside its borders. It will not affect phone service.
The agency also said that it had been trying since 2007 to strike a deal under which it would assume authority over BlackBerry services within that country.
“In their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the U.A.E.,” the agency said.
While the company has disclosed little information about the centers that manage BlackBerry services, it is widely believed that data from the Middle East is handled by a company operations center in Slough, England.
There are about 500,000 BlackBerry users in the United Arab Emirates, a large number of them in the business hub of Dubai.
“R.I.M. has had three years to address these security concerns,” said a U.A.E. government official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The dispute between the United Arab Emirates and R.I.M. took an unusual turn about a year ago when the company warned users that software described as a BlackBerry upgrade by an Emirates carrier, Etisalat, was actually spyware.
“Independent sources have concluded that Etisalat’s ‘Registration’ software application is not actually designed to improve performance of a BlackBerry Handheld, but rather to send received messages back to a central server,” R.I.M. warned customers in an online posting that included directions on removing the software.
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