[trsbbs]

As Research In Motion prepares to report its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Thursday after the market closes, the future of the company and its next-generation products again takes center stage. While estimates for RIM�s second and third quarters are expected by some analysts to beat Wall Street�s consensus, performance of the vendor�s just-released BlackBerry 7 smartphones obviously doesn�t weigh as heavily on the minds of analysts as RIM�s future products and strategy. QNX and its ability to compete with the likes of Apple and Google will be analysts� focus for the next several quarters, and unfortunately for RIM, the only QNX device it has launched to date is the BlackBerry PlayBook. Read on for more.

Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair believes that there is no �meaningful evidence� that RIM is poised to turn things around. Analysts have lowered their expectations for the second quarter and while that may help the vendor when it reports its earnings on Thursday, it will do little for the company in the long run according to Blair. He also says BlackBerry 7 device sales have been mixed thus far, and though they offer a significant improvement compared to older BlackBerry phones, they �should have come out with 18 � 24 months ago.�

On the PlayBook tablet, Blair�s opinion is even more dour. �Last quarter RIM talked about shipping 500,000 units but did not speak of sell-through for obvious reasons,� the analyst wrote in a note to investors on Wednesday. �Channel fill could turn up another decent shipment number this year in the 500,000 � 700,000 unit range but we believe sell-through has been weak enough that that number will trend down over the year and RIM will likely send the PlayBook into the same graveyard as the HP TouchPad.�

RIM has a lot to prove following its first-quarter results, which missed estimates and were accompanied by news of imminent layoffs. A win on Thursday would be a nice start, but the company must also be focused on instilling investor confidence in RIM�s management, strategy and next-generation QNX platform.

BlackBerry PlayBook said to be destined for 'same graveyard as the HP TouchPad'

[trsbbs]

I really hope not. I know I am hard on RIM but I do want them to succeed.

Tim

[brucep1]

I'm not suprised by this news. I hope that version 2.0 can make up for it, but I'm not so sure people will be rushing out to buy a 6 month old device with new software. RIM may have missed the boat on this one.

[Gucci33]

More BS from BGR yet his own employee Zach said the pb was the best tablet on the market

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Shadow_S2K]

These so called predictions are getting old...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[boldman4]

This is what I posted in another thread:
If anyone was following the Best Buy/Touchpad supply news just before HP announced they were fire-selling the Touchpads, you will recall that Best Buy loudly leaked to the press about the huge backlog of Touchpads in their warehouses. This occurred the day before HP announced their earnings.

I don't know if Best Buy will attempt a similar scenario before RIM's earnings tomorrow, but stories like the OP's do not bode well.

[lawguyman]

Let's face it. Sales have not blown the doors off the hinges. Far from it. Playbook was released before it was finished and is suffering because of it. Is the Playbook doomed? I think it will survive but the odds are that it will never be as successful as the iPad or Android tablets. I hope I am wrong.

[big samm]

Can we get 2.0 already!! Seroiusly summer is ending in less than 10 days... I hope they got everything together because I'm tired of waiting!!


Sent from my Bold 9900 using Tapatalk

[trsbbs]

This is what I posted in another thread:
If anyone was following the Best Buy/Touchpad supply news just before HP announced they were fire-selling the Touchpads, you will recall that Best Buy loudly leaked to the press about the huge backlog of Touchpads in their warehouses. This occurred the day before HP announced their earnings.

I don't know if Best Buy will attempt a similar scenario before RIM's earnings tomorrow, but stories like the OP's do not bode well.

Its not "my story". I simply posted it.

Tim

[Shadow_S2K]

Didn't RIM and the Playbook secure a government contract to be used in the US military? Yet we talk about the PB demise all the time?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dkingsf]

As I've stated on the threads about the new Win8 tablets, Playbook will be a niche player along with the Droid tablets. These devices will be used for internet and media primarily, while the new Win 8 tablets will be quickly replacing laptops and netbooks for remote computing.

Initially the price point for these will be high, but as competition and manufacturing gear up, it will drop drastically.

Since MS will not have to do its own hardware like RIM does, but rather license the OS to the likes of Samsung, LG, Dell, Lenovo, Acer etc. etc. then competition in the hardware area will insure that there are a multitude of choices from basic to high-end. Heck, there maybe even an Alienware tablet with Win8 for gamers available.

Since it's been stated that Win 8 will run everything that Win 7 does, and I haven't had anything that I ran on WinXP Pro SP3 that I can't run on Win 7, the embedded software base is ready to go. Note I said software not apps. This will be the true "enterprise ready" device that RIM promised but could not deliver.

[rsxsniper]

click -> open ->BGR ->closes it straight away

[mandony]

IMO:
The positively stated report from Bloomberg is likely true in advance of Thursday's RIM quarterly report

BlackBerrys Said to Get Android Apps as RIM Seeks Sales Boost - Bloomberg

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), seeking to boost the appeal of its BlackBerrys and revive slowing sales, plans to enable models expected next year to run applications built for Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system, three people familiar with the plan said.

BlackBerrys that run on RIM’s new QNX software will be Android-compatible, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the effort isn’t public. RIM has said it plans to introduce QNX phones in “early” 2012.

RIM is rebuilding its range of devices around QNX and is looking to add features that appeal to customers who had grown weary of the aging BlackBerry portfolio and its narrower selection of apps. There are more than 250,000 apps available from Google’s Android Market, or about six times as many as in RIM’s App World, a factor in helping Android become the world’s top smartphone platform.

Of course, the 250.000 stated number of apps are mostly phone apps not tablet apps!

The report goes onto say

PlayBook Updates

RIM plans to issue a PlayBook software upgrade in September that adds a dedicated e-mail program and BlackBerry Messenger instant-messaging applications, one of the people said. A PlayBook upgrade for the Android player may come later on in the year, two of the people said.

What we can look forward for the PB in the next six months

1) A price cut of about $100-150 off suggested retail (this has already been done at spurts by Staples)
2) Announced OS2
3) Assuming native email, there will be more adoption by corporate users.
4) QNX phone launch to stimulate QNX PB sales.
5) Apps for the Android player to improve app selection (there are more than 25 makers of Android tablets, therefore, developers will adopt that as a second platform after iPad).
6) Increased RIM advertising after OS2 release.

In conclusion, based upon the same report, investors also have a positive feeling

RIM rose $1.07, or 3.9 percent, to $28.57 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

[san4berry]

just a talking head analyst. doesn't mean anything.

[Economist101]

IMO:
Of course, the 250.000 stated number of apps are mostly phone apps not tablet apps!

True, but it's the phone apps that the Android player will support, not the tablet apps. For the purposes of an article addressing the Android player, apps the player will run are what's most relevant.

[mandony]

True, but it's the phone apps that the Android player will support, not the tablet apps. For the purposes of an article addressing the Android player, apps the player will run are what's most relevant.

Critical is the app developers perception of whether they feel a particular platform is viable to make money. Obviously, iPhone/iPad apps dominate because there are many units out in the market as a ready sales base. Android phones are about 2/3's of all smart phones (and growing), hence, they are also worthy of making and selling apps. Android tablet apps are another matter. While there are perhaps over 25 makers of Android tablet, perhaps none of them have come close to the 1/4 million PB sales in the past half year. Whether the developers feel the PB addition to the Android app market is worthwhile to make apps for is still unknown. It is an extra effort for the developer, an Android tablet app is different from a phone app.

[kingbernie06511]

problem is all the negative publicity associated with PB and Os7.... then again its very very easy to poke fun of unfinished products or new products with non-competitive hardware, which brings negative publicity....

[mandony]

problem is all the negative publicity associated with PB and Os7....

You are correct. Unfortunately RIM brought much of the 'negative' themselves. Their pre-release promotions said the PB would be a world class business device. If native email , the Android player, and the current stock of appWorld apps, had been included in the original OS release, the reviews would not have had much to talk about.

[kingbernie06511]

i couldnt agree more... I want them to be successful. I think OS7 devices are terrible (besides the build quality of 9900) but the playbook hardware, software and bridge functions excellent. But if someone doesnt have a BB for bridge, then not making a email solution right away is just dumb.

pepper.pk and amail are two email clients submitted to appworld...alas...

[louzer]

Let's face it. Sales have not blown the doors off the hinges. Far from it. Playbook was released before it was finished and is suffering because of it. Is the Playbook doomed? I think it will survive but the odds are that it will never be as successful as the iPad or Android tablets. I hope I am wrong.

The iPad defined the market. Android tablets are not successful. Android tablets are sitting on shelves too.

[mandony]

The iPad defined the market. Android tablets are not successful. Android tablets are sitting on shelves too.

I totally agree. Even when the PB has Android, there will still be slim pickings among other Android tablets. Currently among the 25 or so makers, none stand out. Due to advertising, there will be a player. When Amazon releases their Kindle on steroids Android it will mostly be a selling point for their book app store. But, it might also stimulate Android development of (more powerful) apps for PB too!

[aawilson]

The internet is said to contain bias opinions and false predictions.

[tampasoccer]

This time last week I was the owner of a BlackBerry PlayBook 16GB and a BlackBerry Style 9670

As of yesterday I have sold both. Before you start shouting 'troll' etc etc let me explain...

I have been a happy BlackBerry user for years, a little blip with an iClone, but then back to BB. I used to love the device. When RIM announced that they were releasing a tablet, I was thrilled. So after patiently waiting for the table to get released, and waiting, and waiting... I rushed out and brought one when the day arrived. At first I thought it was great... even though at the time I couldn't sync with my desktop because RIM thought it would be a great idea to release a product alienating a lot of their mac customers. I had to wirelessly sync all of my music and movies onto the device which was very buggy, sync's would just drop for no reason etc... however, I was still happy. I took it to Europe with me, where I met up with my brother who has an iPad 2. This is where I started to see the light. He had apps that RIM said the PB would have.... but they weren't available yet. It's ok, RIM wouldn't mislead people like that though.

Fast forward 5/6 months... and not a lot has changed. The app market is pathetic (even the fanboys know that deep down, bb app world is weak), the promised updates never really came. The Android player (way to admit defeat by the way) never came... so last week I made a decision, sold the PlayBook, sold the Style and decided to buy an HTC Evo.

So far I'm quite impressed with my first dip into the Android market. There are some fantastic apps, some really crap apps and a lot in between. You know what I can do though... read my kindle books, watch netflix, watch my hulu+ account and skype.

I'd honestly go as far as saying that this phone (for me) is better than the PlayBook... thats pretty sad.

Anyways... not here to bash anyone, just wanted to share my story of another lost RIM customer. I genuinely hope that the PlayBook gets the support it needs, and I hope RIM gets a kick up the backside, because thats what it needs.

I'm off to download another fart app

[moe1up]

if it is destined for touch pad status...i need to save a few coins to get a few when they are 100 bux at best buy...i dont think we'll be seeing the end of the device, especially since win 8 is assuring that there will be a long-term market for tablets now (as if thr ipad didnt)...wouldnt make sense for rim to throw in the towel after the government approval, not too bad in sales in Australia and literally being an upgrade away from a near perfect device. blackberry has never been and will never be a mainstream consumers brand....its always been aimed at business. the playbook is an extension of what the phones are...its not a cool toy.

[Economist101]

While there are perhaps over 25 makers of Android tablet, none of them have come close to the 1/4 million PB sales in the past half year.

This isn't true. Motorola has reported more than 600K Xooms "shipped," and the Asus Transformer is doing well also:

Asus Transformer Tablet: Surprising Second Best in Sales After Apple iPad | PCWorld

"Despite earlier reports that sales of Asus' convertible tablet were slowing, monthly shipments of the Eee Pad Transformer have surpassed 400,000 units per month, according to DigiTimes --making the Transformer the second-best selling tablet after the iPad."