1. kevinnugent's Avatar
    Article Page | TheStreet

    Looks like you were right, Kevin!
    08-07-11 01:24 AM
  2. ScoobyDoo555's Avatar
    Interesting article. Have no other comments - still making up my mind!!

    DAn
    08-07-11 03:00 AM
  3. Made in flanders's Avatar
    There is already a tread about it.


    And here for the people how don't feel like clicking:

    3 Reasons Why Google Could Acquire RIM
    By Anton Wahlman, Contributor - 08/05/11 - 7:35 AM EDT
    Tickers in this article: T RIMM MMI BRCM MSFT GOOG NOK QCOM
    The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.
    NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- In recent weeks, I think the probability of Google(NYSE:GOOG) acquiring Research In Motion(NYSE:RIMM) has gone from almost 0% to somewhere in the ballpark of 50%, and I believe there are three dominant reasons why.
    Before I get into my three arguments, I need to mention two things:
    1. I have absolutely no knowledge that Google and RIM are even talking to each other. I often meet with people from Google and RIM, and on the occasions that I have brought up my theory, these people have given me feedback to the effect that I am probably crazy and that they would eat their own hat if it would ever happen.
    2. I have to give full credit to Kevin Michaluk, founder and editor in chief of the outstanding Crackberry.com blog, who published this article on July 4, awakening my thoughts to the serious idea of Google acquiring RIM.
    My initial reaction to the idea was to dismiss it largely based on the antitrust argument. Google needs another Department of Justice investigation just like Obama needs another increase in the unemployment rate. This argument remains valid in principle, but it is mitigated by the relative increase in importance of the other factors. RIM recently fell below $24, is expected to make $5.50 in earnings this year and has $3 billion in cash, making it a very easy buy for Google, even if you assume a monster 100%-plus premium.
    >> Get your financial news on the go with TheStreet's iPad app.
    The market's recent fall may also cause the feds to pull back their attack dogs in order to allow corporate America to engage in their constitutional right to pursue economic freedom, including merging.
    If the feds are going to approve AT&T's (NYSE:T) $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, how could they in good conscience block a smaller deal to acquire a company which the pundits are telling us is falling off a cliff?
    Here are the three most powerful reasons Google should acquire RIM, right now:
    1. Platform convergence

    On Sept. 28, 2010, I published an article suggesting that RIM's PlayBook tablet will be running Android apps. This theory of mine was subsequently confirmed by RIM in March 2011, and it will be extended to the QNX-based BlackBerry smartphones some time in "early" 2012, however RIM defines the term "early." RIM looks to launch its Android app compatibility on the PlayBook soon, probably within the next month or two, although delays have been a recent RIM standard practice.
    How does RIM do it? In 2010, RIM selected the Texas Instruments OMAP 4400 series chip to be the CPU foundation for its proprietary QNX operating system. On top of this, developers are able to very easily re-purpose their Android apps to run over QNX. Given how easy this is to do, it would be reasonable to believe that the hundreds of thousands of Android apps will run on BlackBerry within months from now.
    Here is where is gets extra interesting from Google's standpoint: Based on numerous media reports in recent months, we can now conclude that Google has anointed the same CPU family -- the Texas Instruments OMAP 4400 series -- to be the reference chassis platform for Android 4.0, aka "Ice Cream Sandwich" or ICS. This goes not only for tablets, but also for the much-more-important smartphones, constituting the vast majority of Android's 550,000 daily activations. ICS 4.0 looks to launch on a small number of initial devices some time around Thanksgiving this year.
    Folks, starting by the end of 2011, Android and BlackBerry will be on the same platform, and running the same apps. If this does not get your alarm bells go off, what will?
    Yes, this will not gel completely until early 2012, but initial devices from the Google/Android side of equation are scheduled to hit the market by December 2011. You could have understood 50% of this if you had read the Sept. 28, 2010 article, but it will be a lot harder to ignore this within the next six months.
    The market certainly hasn't given RIM credit for this. Why shouldn't Google strike before the market wakes up to the significance of this convergence?
    For all intents and purposes, despite all other differences, RIM is joining the Android ecosystem in the epic battle against Apple(NYSE:AAPL), Microsoft(NYSE:MSFT) and eventually Google's own Chrome OS. As they said during the Cold War, "There is no such thing as coincidence... ."
    2. NFC and Security

    Two of the next smartphone frontiers are NFC (Near-Field Communications) and security, and they are often related. Google has launched its NFC initiative with the Nexus S smartphone, working with retail payments in Portland, San Francisco and New York. This is a huge effort, taking Google into competition with GroupOn and touching on the payments/banking world.
    While the NFC opportunity is gigantic -- witness the transaction volumes enjoyed by VISA, MasterCard, AmEx and the banking system -- it is also an area where security is paramount. Google claims to have resolved any security issues, and surely they have done a lot.
    But worries remain. The NFC link itself may have been secured, but if the underlying OS platform has to be 100% trusted. One emerging problem with Android is a consequence of its openness, and that is the emergence of various viruses and other security breaches, including keyloggers and other forms of spyware. NFC may be safe for now, but what if malware takes control of the entire platform?
    One key thing that BlackBerry brings to the Android party is a trusted new QNX OS platform that can do a better job than Android in securing against such platform security threats. QNX runs power plants and numerous widgets in the US Department of Defense, among other things.
    Some of the most prominent premium car brands put QNX to run automobile systems. The BlackBerry PlayBook recently became the first tablet to obtain the U.S. government's critical FIPS-140 security certification, which can be a requirement for deployment.
    What is the bottom line here? Without QNX and BlackBerry's trusted (but closed) platform, Google's ambitions in NFC and related commerce may be for naught. It may have to cede this to Apple's much more secure iOS platform, which may not be as secure as QNX, but sure is more meaningfully secure than Android.
    Adding insult to injury, despite Microsoft's horrific security reputation for Windows PC, it has what appears to be an OS in the same class as Apple's iOS for the smartphones: Windows Phone. Google has all the other pieces to win this game, but the weak link is Android's sub-par security. In relation to Google's commerce opportunity that can easily be measured in the many hundreds of billions of dollars, RIM's ex-cash market cap of $10 billion pales.
    3. Those patent wars

    Recently having flown into focus, several actors including Microsoft, Apple and Oracle have asserted their considerable patent portfolios against Google and/or its Android licensees. I am not remotely qualified to judge the validity of these numerous highly complex claims. What seems clear, however, is that Google may have an increasing appetite for beefing up in this arms race.
    For example, IDCC ran up materially a couple of weeks ago based on rumors that Google and Apple may be interested in acquiring said company. Numbers that have been thrown around in the press have been up to $5 billion, or half of RIM's enterprise value.
    Everyone knows that Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI), Nokia(NYSE:NOK), Broadcom(NYSE:BRCM) and Qualcomm(NYSE:QCOM) have some of the largest patent portfolios in the business. That said, RIM also has a respectable patent portfolio, and most people know that RIM has spent considerable amounts over the last decade to develop its own stacks. MMI and Nokia are scraping near the break-even level, while RIM remains hugely profitable, however, so Google would be able to pay a far bigger premium for RIM than any of those other companies.
    With RIM's enterprise value near $10 billion, and other patent portfolios going for approximately $5 billion, it would appear RIM is trading at an even more amazing bargain price than first meets the eye.
    Conclusion: Who else would join a bidding war?
    I don't think the U.S. government -- even more so than the Canadian -- would allow RIM to be sold to the Chinese, or most any other non-North American company. It's just so sensitive to our national security.
    So apart from Google, this leaves only a few companies as potential suitors, in order: HP (NYSE:HPQ), Dell (NASDAQELL), Microsoft and Motorola. Of those, HP has the muscle, Dell has sufficient muscle, Microsoft is highly unpredictable, and Motorola would have to make it more like a merger of equals. I don't think any one of them are as ready right now as Google from a motivation and financial standpoint combined, although they are all possible and should by no means be ruled out.
    The platform convergence, NFC, security and patents all point to Google, in my opinion.
    At the time of publication, Wahlman was long AAPL, GOOG, QCOM and RIMM.
    08-07-11 03:15 AM
  4. Bla1ze's Avatar
    More like The Street read Kevin's article and thought they could do better..

    Although, Anton Wahlman at least isn't a RIM hater - Anton Wahlman: RIM's PlayBook Checkmate
    08-07-11 03:24 AM
  5. ScoobyDoo555's Avatar
    More like The Street read Kevin's article and thought they could do better..

    Although, Anton Wahlman at least isn't a RIM hater - Anton Wahlman: RIM's PlayBook Checkmate
    Shame he got is forecast wrong. Hasn't proved as popular in the UK at least.
    Certainly not yet.
    Christmas should be an interesting time, for sure.
    08-07-11 05:11 AM
  6. bounce007's Avatar
    If this were to occur, what do you guys think might happen with BlackBerry phones and to BlackBerry users. Throw some theories out there...
    08-07-11 06:50 AM
  7. Rexcee's Avatar
    All I'd be hoping is for Google to not make the good stuff from BB paid, such as BBM.
    08-07-11 07:26 AM
  8. sergesc's Avatar
    If QNX is so secure, even so that it is used for important stuff, and Google makes it open-source, wouldn't that defeat the very same principle of security which is why Google could potentially buy RIM?
    08-07-11 09:02 AM
  9. Branta's Avatar
    Open source does not necessarily mean insecure. The algorithms and some code implementations for many of the most secure encryption protocols are openly published. However, if there are deficiencies in the implementation, making it open source will make it easier for bad guys to find the weak points.
    K Bear likes this.
    08-07-11 09:23 AM
  10. sergesc's Avatar
    Open source does not necessarily mean insecure. The algorithms and some code implementations for many of the most secure encryption protocols are openly published. However, if there are deficiencies in the implementation, making it open source will make it easier for bad guys to find the weak points.
    Thanks for the explanation. I'm terrible at understanding software . (I'm a hardware guy )

    So in the situation that Google buys RIM, and starts using QNX for Android, how would that affect the overall security of the OS? I'm mostly worried after an article some days ago saying that it is very possible to get viruses on Android if you don't take care of your phone and load any app. Personally, I've never heard of a BB getting a virus on the other hand...
    08-07-11 09:49 AM
  11. Economist101's Avatar
    All I'd be hoping is for Google to not make the good stuff from BB paid, such as BBM.
    The only thing people pay Google for are ads. It's a lot more likely that ads would show up in BBM than Google would make anyone pay anything for it.
    08-07-11 10:27 AM
  12. T�nis's Avatar
    It would be a disgrace if Google bought RIM. Ads in BlackBerry messenger?!?! What a downgrade! I hate ads.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-07-11 11:15 AM
  13. K Bear's Avatar
    Thanks for the explanation. I'm terrible at understanding software . (I'm a hardware guy )

    So in the situation that Google buys RIM, and starts using QNX for Android, how would that affect the overall security of the OS? I'm mostly worried after an article some days ago saying that it is very possible to get viruses on Android if you don't take care of your phone and load any app. Personally, I've never heard of a BB getting a virus on the other hand...
    If anything, security should be no problem.
    08-07-11 11:25 AM
  14. K Bear's Avatar
    If QNX is so secure, even so that it is used for important stuff, and Google makes it open-source, wouldn't that defeat the very same principle of security which is why Google could potentially buy RIM?
    How many viruses have you hard of that have affected UNIX or LINUX? Both are open source OSs.
    08-07-11 11:29 AM
  15. lssanjose's Avatar
    It would be a disgrace if Google bought RIM. Ads in BlackBerry messenger?!?! What a downgrade! I hate ads.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Why a disgrace? And why generalize an outcome before anything has happened?


    Sent from my ADR6300
    avt123 likes this.
    08-07-11 11:29 AM
  16. lssanjose's Avatar
    How many viruses have you hard of that have affected UNIX or LINUX? Both are open source OSs.
    The thing is, those platforms don't garner a lot of users, anyways. Because of that, many viruses aren't written towards them. Windows, on the other hand....

    Sent from my ADR6300
    08-07-11 11:32 AM
  17. K Bear's Avatar
    The thing is, those platforms don't garner a lot of users, anyways. Because of that, many viruses aren't written towards them. Windows, on the other hand....

    Sent from my ADR6300
    Windows is just poor code. That's well known.
    08-07-11 12:09 PM
  18. Phil DeLong's Avatar
    Don't get me wrong, I don't want to discredit Kevin because I think he has very valid points and he seems to be a very smart cookie, but this hardly proves his predictions right. This isn't a confirmation that it's happening it's just more speculation.
    08-07-11 12:14 PM
  19. lnichols's Avatar
    I don't see someone buying RIM unless Mike and Jim want out. I wonder if their are even enough shares available for RIM to be taken over without Mike or Jim's say? This article is just more speculation. Personally I don't even like the idea of the Android player too much. Would rather see apps with the NDK.
    08-07-11 12:27 PM
  20. K Bear's Avatar
    I could see a partnership before an acquisition materialize.
    08-07-11 12:55 PM
  21. EchoTango's Avatar
    I found this article quite maddening.

    Using Kevin (who I think is stand-up guy and very well informed on RIM) as fodder for another negative article is just plain wrong. I see this all the time, "analysts" parroting other articles and making it look like their own work. This causes one wrong or just plain stupid assertion to be repeated over and over again. At the least this guy admitted he got the basis of the article from Kevin but that didn't stop him from using him anyway.

    Look at when the Playbook came out. One reviewer said the tablet seemed "incomplete, this then was telegraphed around the web journals by lazy journalists looking for an easy story.

    Kevin should have a word with this guy about intellectual property....
    08-07-11 01:12 PM
  22. T�nis's Avatar
    Why a disgrace? And why generalize an outcome before anything has happened?


    Sent from my ADR6300
    I based that statement upon another poster's speculation that bbm would come to include ads. That would be a disgrace, a downgrade of BlackBerry Messenger and the entire BlackBerry platform. Google would be bad for BlackBerry. I hate ads. To me, they're the equivalent of spam.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Last edited by T�nis; 08-07-11 at 01:21 PM.
    08-07-11 01:14 PM
  23. southlander's Avatar
    However, if there are deficiencies in the implementation, making it open source will make it easier for bad guys to find the weak points.
    And of course easier for the good guys to fix with help from outside eyeballs.
    K Bear likes this.
    08-07-11 01:18 PM
  24. K Bear's Avatar
    And of course easier for the good guys to fix with help from outside eyeballs.
    The power of a good open source community is that a) they take care of each other b) it gives you a slew of troubleshooters c) the protection of knowing that if someone attacks the community, there will be heck to pay ten fold
    08-07-11 01:31 PM
  25. Economist101's Avatar
    And why generalize an outcome before anything has happened?
    In that case, why even bother visiting a thread called "Google to Buy RIM. Why?"? Obviously this transaction has yet to occur, which renders everything said here speculative. Therefore, if you aren't interested in speculation, why bother reading?
    08-07-11 01:52 PM
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