RIM Seeks U.S. Rebound - WSJ.com
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As one who concentrated in print journalism, I love the writers use of intense words--hemorrhage, deterioration--apparently, I'm a nerd.
Right now, RIM's track record is against it. The Torch 9800 wasn't the savior it was touted to be.
Now, it's up to the market. With the new devices, one of two things will happen. Either RIM will rebound if BlackBerries sell exceptionally better than expected, causing all the naysayers to eat their words; or, the naysayers will be validated in their predictions.
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Hope RIM will rebound...i think they know what they doing...they will offer alot of devices in almost one time.
WSJ is behind the timeline again, but they had to do something to maintain the negative pressure when RIM published Press Release: Research In Motion Introduces New BlackBerry 7 Smartphones
What is this "first all-touch screen phone" business in the WSJ piece? Apparently, WSJ agrees that the Storm was chopped liver.
For those of you without access to WSJ, here is the full article:
BlackBerry Readies iPhone Challenge
By CHIP CUMMINS And SPENCER E. ANTE
Research In Motion Ltd. plans to release a bevy of new BlackBerry devices, a delayed effort to reinvigorate its flagging brand and claw back some of the market share it has hemorrhaged in North America.
Early Wednesday, RIM was expected to roll out five new smartphones, including its first all-touch screen phone. RIM executives said the phones will be available in stores world-wide within weeks, offered by more than 200 carriers.
But it's unclear the new devices will be able to deliver the sort of buzz�and sales�that will help BlackBerry catch up quickly to offerings by Apple Inc. and Google Inc. RIM, which once dominated the sector, has taken more than a year to release a new model and is now a distant third place in North America.
The Canadian company's stock has fallen 68% year-to-date and on Tuesday closed at $24.15�near its 52-week low.
RIM has acknowledged that delays in launching the new phones have kept them out of some carriers' back-to-school programs, which will cost the company sales.
The new BlackBerrys also won't be running the company's recently acquired operating system, QNX. The company has bet its future on the new software, but QNX phones won't be ready until next year. Instead, the new models will run on an update to RIM's existing BlackBerry software.
RIM bought QNX last year, betting a major overhaul of its legacy software would help its phones compete better with faster video and other features. But QNX phones won't be ready until early next year.
Customers may hold back on the new BlackBerrys, if they know the QNX phones are right around the corner, some analysts say. RIM executives characterize the new phones as a good bridge for consumers ahead of the QNX roll-out next year.
"We're delivering an enhanced experience, and we'll enhance it again when the time comes," said Patrick Spence, RIM's managing director for global sales and regional marketing, in an interview.
Meanwhile, Apple is expected to roll out an updated iPhone this fall, and a number of new phones with Google's Android software are on the way, including models that will work on U.S. carriers' fast, new 4G networks.
Consumers have shifted away from BlackBerry in favor of Apple and Android's more innovative, consumer-friendly devices.
RIM is also seeing pressure among business customers, its traditional stronghold, as more companies allow their employees to buy their own phones and use them at work.
Steve Chong, manager of messaging and collaboration for San Francisco-based Union Bank, part of UnionBanCal Corp., said that over the past year its employees have been electing to use iPhones and Android devices instead of BlackBerrys.
The company now supports about 1,000 iPhones, up from 300 last July. It also has 500 Android devices, up from 100 last July. At the same time, Union Bank is now down to 1,200 BlackBerry phones, from 1,700 in the same time period.
Mr. Chong doesn't believe RIM's new products will be able to reverse the company's market-share losses. "There will probably be a significant decrease in usage," he said. "The people still consider BlackBerry a business device."
At the end of the first quarter of this year, smartphones that run on Android made up 50.9% of the North American market, followed by the iPhone operating system at 27.1% and RIM, at 16.5%. RIM's market share fell from 41.3% in the first quarter of 2010, according to Gartner Inc., a technology advisory.
Globally, RIM's share of smartphones fell to 12.9% in the first quarter from 19.7% a year earlier.
Earlier this year at a gathering of customers, developers and partners in Florida, RIM previewed its BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930. In addition to those models, RIM is expected to officially roll out Wednesday its Torch 9810, with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and the Torch 9850 and 9860, BlackBerry's first all-touch screen model.
All the new models will run off of BlackBerry 7, the latest update to RIM's smartphone operating system. RIM promises BlackBerry 7 will offer faster Web browsing and search capability, including voice-enabled search functions and enhanced, high-definition video recording capacity.
The BlackBerry's rapid North American market deterioration�and a series of profit warnings�has infuriated shareholders, who have dumped RIM stock. Co-Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis recently promised new devices this year and next would reestablish RIM as a player in the North American smart phone "arms race."
Consumers have increasingly favored Apple and Android phones. Above, a display at an exhibition near Tokyo in 2008.
Underscoring the severity of the crisis, RIM announced massive job cuts last week, slashing more than 10% of its global work force. While the cuts will reduce costs, analysts said they won't speed along new products to compete with Apple and Android.
Missed deadlines have also cost the company some credibility with carriers, which want RIM to succeed but believe the company is struggling to come up with products that appeal to consumers.
Sprint Nextel Corp. is the only U.S. carrier to sell the BlackBerry PlayBook, RIM's version of a tablet computer. The two largest U.S. phone companies, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., don't yet sell the device.
"It helps a little to have these products out," Jeff Fidacaro, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group in New York, said of the new BlackBerrys. "The bigger question is does it matter in the interim before QNX arrives."
Write to Chip Cummins at [email protected]
I laughed a little when I read this. Everyone is yelling for new phones and finally when they announce new phones weeks before release, all we get is, it helps a little...
The WSJ article was published before RIM's press release.
RIM is behind the times if they think they can price the 9900 at $600 out of contract.
There's no need for negative pressure, RIM on a downward slide regardless of what anybody reports about them.
I don't see this as an thread that should be title "WSH down on RIM (again)". Seems to be they are reporting what has actually happened and merely questioning if the new devices are enough right now given that they are really on a bridge to QNX. Don't see this as them bashing RIM in any way. They merely pointed out the facts about the drop in stock price, loss in market share and massive layoffs. When RIM does something worth praise they will get it.
To some people any negativity toward their beloved brand is "bashing." Interesting how emotions cloud perception so frequently in so many people. They, for some reason, wrap their own egos up with the products they use. I guess corporations like this type of person.
I own a BB but I don't need to hype the product to satisfy my own fragile ego. My BB sucks in some ways, is decent in others. From what I've seen RIM has very little innovation these days, and I look at their product line and predict that their company will have major problems in the future. That's without emotion. I couldn't care less what happens to RIM or blackberry, or Apple or Google or anybody. My ego is not wrapped up in the products or services I purchase.
I wonder if the people who get all emotionally involved in brand names are also ones who get wrapped up in professional sports teams. I've never been the type who can externally identify with sports teams... simply couldn't give a rat's @ss whether the Dodgers or Lakers are winning or losing even though I live in and originate from Los Angeles. That would be an interesting study to do.
300 bucks on contract with no LTE and dual core processor, or HDMI out or DLNA.
RIM is killing themselves with stunts like this...
That pricepoint is inconceivable
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Haha, hilarious comparison in the end
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
RIM knows how they're doing. They won't let all their secrets out. If they did, they'd be gone, or wrecked.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
Great post. Simply posting a story from another new source doesn't constitute bashing in my eyes. A lot of folks get pretty worked up; taking it personally.
RIM is in a bit of a slump; that's for sure. But we're finally seeing some new phones. Hopefully, this will help move things along. Or, at the very least, tie things over until the QNX devices come out.
I'm due for an upgrade and the new BB's don't really excite me that much. The extra horsepower will help, but the OS and app availability are still lacking. For now, I'll probably look elsewhere. But who knows, things may change roughly 2 years from now.