[cur1ouscat]

i suspect the real reason RIM pays not much attention to the PB is that it isnot as profitable as a phone. afterall, there is no on going subscription fees like a phone after the initial purchase. Apple got into the iPad in order to sell music and apps. the iPad itself is not profitable, like selling a cut throat PC. Thats what alot of the asian manufacturers have found out. The PB is probably a test of the new QNX OS and a show of keeping up with the Joneses, until QNX phones start selling in bulk we probably wont get as many OS updates as the blackberry phones.

[kbz1960]

Of course it isn't as profitable but they could sell a lot more of them if they ever complete it and get completed working units on display in stores instead of ones sitting there dead no one knows what to do with.

[newcollector]

i think you're initial assumption is inaccurate. RIMM doesn't have anything to do with subscription fees; that's a carrier issue. RIMM "sells" the phones to the carriers, so they get their money. The Playbook is no different.

RIMM has been paying a lot of attention to the Playbook: it has been getting upgrades on a regular basis, with more to come.

[iPearl]

it is not the reason! the only one is RIM has not enough experience for tablet and they need more time to make everything better..I love playbook but hate RIM!!!

[gimpy39]

i think you're initial assumption is inaccurate. RIMM doesn't have anything to do with subscription fees; that's a carrier issue. RIMM "sells" the phones to the carriers, so they get their money.

I don't think this is accurate, RIMM collects fees from carriers

RIM's smart-phone advantage - The Globe and Mail

"Carriers pay RIM a fee per BlackBerry user."

[howarmat]

RIM gets like $5 from the carriers for each BIS account. So yes they make money of subscriptions technically

[Phil DeLong]

Uh...how do you figure that RIM isn't paying much attention the PlayBook? They've pushed out just shy of a thousand software updates for it so far.


(Figure exaggerated for emphasis obviously).

[togardergrosse]

Where did RIM get profits from PB?
- PB sales through retails, etc
- AppWorld sales
- Music/7digital sales? (partnership perhaps?)
And to see the current states:
- Buy a PB, don't have a BB phone? = Buy a BB phone (bundled) = money
- Above strategy FAILS in North America / Europe but works in EMEA?

Just a speculation though.. RIM put lots of investment in PB's advertising here, and things are looking better than before (at least in here).

[frfghtr]

i suspect the real reason RIM pays not much attention to the PB is that it isnot as profitable as a phone. afterall, there is no on going subscription fees like a phone after the initial purchase. Apple got into the iPad in order to sell music and apps. the iPad itself is not profitable

Yup. And oil companies manufacture cars so they can sell gasoline.

[DivideBYZero]

I just love this sort of 'information' pulled from the lower intestine of the poster.

[arieh]

Apparently the Apple App store isn't particularly profitable, because Apple has to spend too much time testing the apps etc. The profit is in the hardware (and the music).

[exzibit3]

Facts from the first quarter of fiscal 2012:

- 78% of revenue came from hardware revenue (includes sales of handsets and Playbook).
- 20% of revenue came from service (primarily a monthly infrastructure access fee charged to a carrier or reseller).
- 2% of revenue came from software and other revenues (including BES, CAL, tech support).

[Economist101]

Apple got into the iPad in order to sell music and apps. the iPad itself is not profitable, like selling a cut throat PC.

Wrong. Apple makes virtually nothing from music and apps. The App Store revenue (from all iOS devices) last year was $1.8 billion, of which 30% ($540 million) was Apple's cut. That $540 million represents less than 1% of Apple's revenue last year, and remember, those $540 million have to pay all of the App Store costs. The same goes for music sales, of which Apple takes a 30% cut that is reduced by operating costs. On the other hand, the iPad itself is very profitable, just like the iPhone. Apple uses software to sell hardware, not the other way around.

Now, if you say the iPad isn't profitably to the asian manufacturers, that might be true, because Apple keeps the profits for itself. But you can't deny the revenue or the profit flowing from iOS devices, especially the iPhone and iPad, which features average selling prices of ~$625 and ~$600, respectively.

Now, if you're looking for a device that is sold at or near a loss in order to boost content sales, look no further than the Kindle, which is all about content sales.

[anon(257429)]

i think you're initial assumption is inaccurate. RIMM doesn't have anything to do with subscription fees; that's a carrier issue. RIMM "sells" the phones to the carriers, so they get their money. The Playbook is no different.

RIMM has been paying a lot of attention to the Playbook: it has been getting upgrades on a regular basis, with more to come.

BIS service fee goes to RIM...

[lnichols]

iPad costs Apple about $260 to make according to iSupply. I would imagine the that the Playbook is somewhere around there. I don't think they are making a lot of of the 16GB, but probably make more off of the 32 and 64GB models because flash is cheap.

[s219]

Apple got into the iPad in order to sell music and apps. the iPad itself is not profitable, like selling a cut throat PC.

As noted, you blew that theory. It's exactly the opposite -- they created iTunes to help sell hardware where the real money is. This is easily discovered online in earnings reports, etc. Do some research next time.

[blackmoe]

i think you're initial assumption is inaccurate. RIMM doesn't have anything to do with subscription fees; that's a carrier issue. RIMM "sells" the phones to the carriers, so they get their money. The Playbook is no different.
.

Wrong. Rim get a fee for the BIS server access and that why Blackberry plans cost a little than other data plans (unless the carrier eats the cost).

[SharpieFiend]

iPad costs Apple about $260 to make according to iSupply. I would imagine the that the Playbook is somewhere around there. I don't think they are making a lot of of the 16GB, but probably make more off of the 32 and 64GB models because flash is cheap.

iSupply just lists the component cost, so it it's only a good gauge on that. They don't list manufacturing, shipping, development, marketing or support costs so it hardly tells the whole story.

[SharpieFiend]

As noted, you blew that theory. It's exactly the opposite -- they created iTunes to help sell hardware where the real money is. This is easily discovered online in earnings reports, etc. Do some research next time.

Would you care to back that up with numbers, big boy?

[Economist101]

Would you care to back that up with numbers, big boy?

Already done. Check my post earlier in this thread.