[VerryBestr]

| RIM Plans to Start BlackBerry 10 Rollout in January - Bloomberg

Excerpt:

�My expectation is that in some countries we will be launching in January,� Frank Boulben, RIM�s new chief marketing officer, said in an interview before the meeting. �Will it be three continents or five, five countries or 10? I don�t know the specifics yet, but it will be multiple countries on multiple continents.�

... Still, Boulben said he couldn�t guarantee the January timing for the first phone because wireless carriers� testing of the device could run late. �The testing process of our carrier partners can take up to eight, 10, 12 weeks, so we are also dependent on them,� he said.

[VerryBestr]

| RIM Plans to Start BlackBerry 10 Rollout in January - Bloomberg

Rim Plans To Start Blackberry 10 Rollout In January
By Hugo Miller - Jul 10, 2012 6:05 PM GMT+0200

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) shares fell more than 5 percent for a second straight day after Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins struggled to reassure shareholders who gathered today at the company�s annual meeting.

Heins faced combative questions from investors, who have seen the stock lose about 95 percent of its value since peaking in 2008. RIM has failed to keep up with Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG), and the release of its new BlackBerry 10 operating system -- a linchpin of its comeback plan -- has been delayed twice.

�I want to assure you I am not satisfied with the performance of the company over the past year,� Heins said at the meeting. �We are working around the clock to successfully complete the transition path that we are on.�

RIM, playing catch-up with Apple�s iPhone and smartphones that run on Google�s Android platform, is racing to get the revamped BlackBerry 10 into consumers� hands. RIM�s share of the global smartphone industry fell by more than half to 6.4 percent in the first quarter, according to IDC. Android jumped to 59 percent, while Apple accounted for 23 percent.

RIM�s stock fell as much as 5.1 percent to $7.28 in New York, following a decline of 5.3 percent yesterday. The shares have lost about half their value since the start of the year.

At the event, Heins fielded questions about whether his salary of C$1 million ($980,000) was warranted and whether the board was diverse enough. Shareholders also voted today to approve RIM�s directors and a nonbinding say-on-pay measure that the board had supported.

January Debut

The company also said today that it was aiming to release its first BlackBerry 10 phones in January, giving a more specific time frame than its previous goal of the first quarter.

�My expectation is that in some countries we will be launching in January,� Frank Boulben, RIM�s new chief marketing officer, said in an interview before the meeting. �Will it be three continents or five, five countries or 10? I don�t know the specifics yet, but it will be multiple countries on multiple continents.�

Boulben, who was hired for RIM�s top marketing job in May, said that releasing the phone in January and not in the run-up to the holiday shopping season means RIM won�t have to compete with a flood of new handsets. It also can garner more publicity in the new year, he said. Apple and other rivals are expected to release new models later this year.

Still, Boulben said he couldn�t guarantee the January timing for the first phone because wireless carriers� testing of the device could run late.

Testing Uncertainty

�The testing process of our carrier partners can take up to eight, 10, 12 weeks, so we are also dependent on them,� he said.

RIM had initially planned to introduce the first BB10 device in the spring of last year, before delaying it twice. The company said last month that the first BB10 phone wouldn�t be released until first quarter of 2013, an announcement that sent the shares tumbling. At the time, RIM wasn�t more specific.

RIM last month reported a first-quarter loss excluding restructuring expenses that was more than five times bigger than what analysts had predicted. Sales tumbled 43 percent to $2.8 billion, and the company said it would cut 5,000 jobs.

[Rooster99]

| RIM Plans to Start BlackBerry 10 Rollout in January - Bloomberg

Excerpt:

... Still, Boulben said he couldn�t guarantee the January timing for the first phone because wireless carriers� testing of the device could run late. �The testing process of our carrier partners can take up to eight, 10, 12 weeks, so we are also dependent on them,� he said.[/I]

But didn't Thorsten state January? From his interview on cio.com "In January with the full touch device and the QWERTY coming, I think we will reinstall faith in RIM." And he made some pretty strong statements about committing to that. RIM CEO on What Went Wrong and the Future of BlackBerry CIO.com

So CEO = January, yes, CMO = January can't commit. What the h3ll are they doing? It's a slapstick clown act!

- R.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

| RIM Plans to Start BlackBerry 10 Rollout in January - Bloomberg

Excerpt:

�My expectation is that in some countries we will be launching in January,� Frank Boulben, RIM�s new chief marketing officer, said in an interview before the meeting. �Will it be three continents or five, five countries or 10? I don�t know the specifics yet, but it will be multiple countries on multiple continents.�

... Still, Boulben said he couldn�t guarantee the January timing for the first phone because wireless carriers� testing of the device could run late. �The testing process of our carrier partners can take up to eight, 10, 12 weeks, so we are also dependent on them,� he said.

So if RIM finishes by January 1st, it could be two of three months because of carrier testing?

So a release date of March? Just in time for....

[Superfly_FR]

Heins statement has been officially brought back to Q1 2013 as the sole official target date.
We should stick to this to avoid any deception, especially for N.A users, while the devices should hit Europe first ...

2 cents

[sf49ers]

But didn't Thorsten state January? From his interview on cio.com "In January with the full touch device and the QWERTY coming, I think we will reinstall faith in RIM." And he made some pretty strong statements about committing to that. RIM CEO on What Went Wrong and the Future of BlackBerry CIO.com

So CEO = January, yes, CMO = January can't commit. What the h3ll are they doing? It's a slapstick clown act!

- R.

Heins never revealed will it be NA or Europe in January, from the earlier leaks it was reported rest of the World/Europe would see the first BB10 phones, as usual NA carriers take their sweet as-s time to test the devices and RIM in it's current position doesn't have much control. if you read it carefully even the new CMO is saying the same thing.

[kbz1960]

Maybe they need "say what you mean" lessons. They have done well with RIM speak and dates which mean absolutely nothing.

I'm still waiting but only because I like what I have seen and I'm not eligible for an upgrade until next year this time. I'm not a for sure buyer though.

[JPMorgan_]

This means March, damn... not looking good

[Sprawl]

if these phones are not in customers hands by January at this point, RIM might as well pack up.

[GTiLeo]

Whats to say RIM doesnt give carriers the un polished versions of BB10 for testing so they can be ready for an earlier release. Thor stated when the delay was told that it would give more time for testing and polishing so lets not get to far ahead and make things that are still unsure the new death of RIM news

[Sprawl]

Whats to say RIM doesnt give carriers the un polished versions of BB10 for testing so they can be ready for an earlier release. Thor stated when the delay was told that it would give more time for testing and polishing so lets not get to far ahead and make things that are still unsure the new death of RIM news

The big problem is, the lack of information.

RIM has this belief that they can play the secrecy game with everyone. They're not Apple. They can't sit back and make "ballpark" announcements on "roll outs". Setting no concretes, giving zero information.

we dont know the hardware specs. We've seen less than a dozen screenshots of BB10 in action. we dont know the features list or the carriers. we know the collective amount of bubkiss. nothing, Zilch, and Zero. all we know "BB10 is coming soon™". And they've announced this 2 years ago.

So when we show and express deep concern that yet another vague term of "rolling out in January" is given with no concrete information of what exactly the roll out is, and to whome and where, we are going to have doubts. Serious doubts.

And RIM has done absolutely nothing to settle those doubts but to continue playing the secrecy game.

And you wonder WHY people are predicting RIM's death? RIM has handled this in the worste possible way a company with ailing financials can. All we have is Thor saying 'everything is fine', to the tune of 500 million in losses and 400 million in unsold OS7 hardware

[hpjrt]

The big problem is, the lack of information.

RIM has this belief that they can play the secrecy game with everyone. They're not Apple. They can't sit back and make "ballpark" announcements on "roll outs". Setting no concretes, giving zero information.

But Apple has been secretive since way before they became the Apple of today. It's one of the few things Apple has consistently done with which I agree. It's far more difficult to slam a company for breaking promises they never made.

[GTiLeo]

The reason there are so many unsold OS7 devices is because RIM didnt didnt play this game earlier. They went out and talked about BB10 boosting it to no end. Why would loyalists buy an OS7 device when they could wait for BB10. Why would folk buy an OS7 device when you cant upgrade to BB10. This was all the doing of the ex CEOs thor is trying to clean things up but its ever so hard to do with the situation RIM is in.

We will eventually see whats instore for us with BB10 we just have to wait till RIM is ready. Seeing how the playbook handles task i see the potential in the QNX OS and see thors attention to detail and i can make a good assumption that BB10 will impress. Things dont hqppen over night and we all just have to stfu and relax

[cgk]

Ah.. is "carrier testing" going to be this year's version of "waiting on LTE chips"?

There is something wrong within RIM regarding corporate communications, nobody seems to be singing from the same sheet.

[VerryBestr]

... 400 million in unsold OS7 hardware

Where is this number coming from? RIM gives no information about how much OS7 hardware is being built compared to older hardware production. RIM continues to manufacture and sell these older phones by the millions.

The latest financial report indicated $161 million in "finished goods," $454 million in "work in progress," and $888 million in "raw materials." This is quite similar to year-ago numbers ($175, $409, and $634 million respectively), except for the increase in raw materials. This increase may be related to locking up some hardware, such as screens, for BB10.

[Thunderbuck]

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that their current timeline has them submitting for carrier testing in a window that could see the phones introduced to the public somewhere from mid-January to mid-February, and because that timing is dependent in part on the carriers themselves, RIM can't pin down a month yet.

And the more I think about the notion that the BB10 intro was deliberately pushed back to avoid the iPhone 5/WP8 marketing battle pre-Christmas, the more I like it.

[Sprawl]

Where is this number coming from? RIM gives no information about how much OS7 hardware is being built compared to older hardware production. RIM continues to manufacture and sell these older phones by the millions.

The latest financial report indicated $161 million in "finished goods," $454 million in "work in progress," and $888 million in "raw materials." This is quite similar to year-ago numbers ($175, $409, and $634 million respectively), except for the increase in raw materials. This increase may be related to locking up some hardware, such as screens, for BB10.

sorry, I overstated bit based off memory.
"Then in March, the company recorded a $267 million expense for BlackBerry inventory."
RIM at risk of writedown as unsold inventory piles up - thestar.com

[VerryBestr]

... "Then in March, the company recorded a $267 million expense for BlackBerry inventory." ...

But no one outside RIM knows if this special expense was related to lowering the pricing on BB7 phones, or to lowering the prices on older models in order to compete with lower price Android phones in Latin America for example, or to the special models that RIM builds for India and China.

In any case, for every quarter during the past two years, RIM has written off something like $250 to $450 million (numbers from my memory) as a "provision for excess and obsolete inventories." So the $267 million special write-off is something of a bump on "business as usual" for RIM. Of course, "business as usual" may be a real problem there, perhaps RIM could do a much better job of inventory management.

[Sprawl]

But no one outside RIM knows if this special expense was related to lowering the pricing on BB7 phones, or to lowering the prices on older models in order to compete with lower price Android phones in Latin America for example, or to the special models that RIM builds for India and China.

In any case, for every quarter during the past two years, RIM has written off something like $250 to $450 million (numbers from my memory) as a "provision for excess and obsolete inventories." So the $267 million special write-off is something of a bump on "business as usual" for RIM. Of course, "business as usual" may be a real problem there, perhaps RIM could do a much better job of inventory management.

but continues to show that their expectations of sales of OS7 devices are far higher than actuals.

tack on that while they're writing down all this excess unsold inventory, they're still attempting to sell their phones, while releasing new models, at premium prices. The bold 9900 still sells for $650 retail. Same as the iPhone 4s, Galaxy Nexus, GS III and HTC ONE X.

So when we get these "soon" comments and vague terms with no concretes, Its not unreasonable for the sceptics who have been with RIM for years to be worried. When the dedicated start questioning if they can hold out, Things are not fine.

FOr Thor and the looney tunes running RIM to think things are operating fine right now, without setting concrete deadlines and throwing their fans and customers a bone, They're insulting us and stringing us along.

If you asked out a girl and she kept saying "maybe soon". eventually you'd get fed up and find another girl to ask out

[Rello]

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that their current timeline has them submitting for carrier testing in a window that could see the phones introduced to the public somewhere from mid-January to mid-February, and because that timing is dependent in part on the carriers themselves, RIM can't pin down a month yet.

And the more I think about the notion that the BB10 intro was deliberately pushed back to avoid the iPhone 5/WP8 marketing battle pre-Christmas, the more I like it.

U make a excellent point, but I have to ask...since the CEO seems so confident about BB10 turning around RIM, then why couldn't it have been released even amongst the iphone5 releasing? It's said they could still see "seams" in the software when they wanted it to be seamless. Makes me wonder what us as consumers would've gotten had BB10 released in the beginning of 2012?. I personally believe it would've been like the PlayBook all over again.

I admit, reading the CEO talk about BB10 and how it will bring RIM back makes me smile with joy because I truly do want to see RIM succeed and bring some innovative things to the market but it almost just seems like saying it's all dependent on carrier testing is a much more believable excuse to give people because it still might not be ready by January. I'm being on March based solely on the fact that they have lost my faith in meeting deadlines.

For this long of a wait, I "expect" there to be innovative features that neither IOS and Android have. RIM says the patient will be rewarded well let's see because they better throw the meanest hailmary of their life with BB10...

[sinsin07]

Ah.. is "carrier testing" going to be this year's version of "waiting on LTE chips"?

There is something wrong within RIM regarding corporate communications, nobody seems to be singing from the same sheet.

Not sheet music. Karaoke. It allows for variance.

[VerryBestr]

... FOr Thor and the looney tunes running RIM to think things are operating fine right now, without setting concrete deadlines and throwing their fans and customers a bone, They're insulting us and stringing us along. ...

I don't see how RIM could announce a date for BB10 phones. First RIM has to "sell" carriers on the new phone and negotiate financial terms. I doubt that RIM already has the product that will convince US carriers to close a deal. When BB10 is far enough along, then RIM can seriously negotiate. No dates will be known until such negotiations are completed. Unless, of course, you want RIM to sell phones by mail order directly to customers at unsubsidized prices ... I don't think that would work out very well in the US.

[Sprawl]

I don't see how RIM could announce a date for BB10 phones. First RIM has to "sell" carriers on the new phone and negotiate financial terms. I doubt that RIM already has the product that will convince US carriers to close a deal. When BB10 is far enough along, then RIM can seriously negotiate. No dates will be known until such negotiations are completed. Unless, of course, you want RIM to sell phones by mail order directly to customers at unsubsidized prices ... I don't think that would work out very well in the US.

thats the problem

"customers, wait, they're coming soon, we promise"

this has been what they've said since OS6 (OS7 was supposed to be QNX). they segregated their market and devalued the quality of current generation.

They did this with no carrier testing plans for BB10. they did this with no concrete deadlines. they did this with no discounts to keep people in the RIM camp. they did it with no foresight or forethought.

THEN after they did all this, they have since decided to play the secrecy game. from day 1 they screwed up. And they still have done nothing to fix it.

then they keep up the vague terms with no dates while we're still being asked to pay premium prices, while there's still no end in site. I have no faith that RIM will have these phones in our hands by January right right. Even with carrier testing I have little faith that they'll be in our hands in March.

Many of us who refuse to pay premium prices are nearing end of contracts. with No firm release, I have absolutely no faith that RIM will have suitable product to market. My OS6 based Torch is giving me nothing but problems, and if I had no choice but to buy a new phone today, Would i pay $650 for a OS7 torch or go pay $650 for a modern phone with a modern OS?

RIM shot themselves in the foot and instead of bandaging the foot with proper medical treatment, they're shoving it their mouths and saying "the taste of blood aint that bad"

[alan510]

In at least one interview, I think it was the Toronto Star, the new CMO pointed out that the best marketing in the Internet age is word of mouth. I guess he means vehicles such as Twitter and fan sites such as CB for example will get the word out. So if BB10 is released outside of North America then it will be either bashed or praised (or both) before it launches in the US or Canada. I bet there are plenty of those people who say now that they won't wait till later in Q1 2013 to buy BB10 will in fact wait if the phone is wowing people elsewhere. So why don't you take a chill pill and wait and see. You're not going to affect RIM'S timeline one way or another.

[berklon]

Yet another lie.

They won't have this thing out in Q1 2013. They know it and are just being pro-active with excuses.

It's obvious they are so behind with BB10, but they continue to string people along - even though those who are strung along are getting smaller by the day as they realize the jig is up.