RIM

Blackberry putting itself up for sale, will Microsoft nibble?

January 16, 2012 | By Surur

RIM is having a pretty horrible year, with its Blackberry market share plunging in USA, and even upstart Windows Phone looking to overtake it in mind share if not market share (and that’s coming also).

No wonder rumours that the company has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to ‘explore strategic options’ (analyst speak for find us a buyer) has boosted the stock price by nearly 4% last week – the company would be better off under nearly any management than their bumbling dual CEOs.

However the question is if anyone wants to buy RIM – its market cap is already lower than the combination of its cash and assets, making the company a real steal already, but still no-one is taking a bite.

Of course one company which has always been in the running is Microsoft, mainly due to the natural affinity Microsoft has with RIM’s business customers. In fact at a market cap of $8.34 Billion is is in the same ballpark as Skype, which Microsoft purchased in October 2011.

However owning a major OEM like RIM would certainly interfere with Microsoft’s relationship with their other big partner, Nokia. There is however a very simple way around this – a joint venture between Microsoft and Nokia. There have been previous rumours of the two companies investigating such a deal a few weeks ago, and with RIM nearly 30% cheaper than it was 3 months ago the deal must once again be looking attractive.

Of course RIM by itself may not be enough to convince MSokia to buy, but the prospect of the company and its patent trove being scooped up by Google must make the deal seem almost inevitable.

The best deal would see Nokia managing RIMs business while Microsoft works on the back-end integrating Blackberry support into Exchange, and then working on transitioning Blackberry OS to Windows Phone 7 over the course of a few years.

What do our readers think? Is the deal inevitable? Let us know below.

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Report: Microsoft And Nokia Were In Talks To Buy RIM

December 21, 2011 | By Pradeep

Wall Street Journal today reported that Microsoft and Nokia were in talks to acquire Blackberry maker RIM. RIM’s stock is diving down everyday and its currently worth $7 billion which is less than their net assets worth $15 billion. RIM recently announced that their new QNX based Blackberry models won’t ship until late 2012. This led to lots of rumors and speculations on RIM’s future.

According to WSJ,

People familiar with the matter said senior executives from all three companies frequently meet to discuss ways to enhance their partnerships and talk about their industry.

It is unclear how extensively RIM has been involved in any takeover discussions with Microsoft and Nokia.

WSJ also added that RIM also had discussions with Samsung, HTC, etc, to license BB 10 operating system and services. Interesting times ahead !

Dell finally replaces 15,000 Blackberries with Windows Phones

November 17, 2011 | By Surur

Almost exactly a year ago Dell announced they will be replacing 25,000 Blackberries with their own Windows Phone 7 handsets.

Clearly things did not go exactly as planned, but now, a year later, Dell’s plan is coming at least somewhat to fruition, with Dell global chief information officer Robin Johnson claiming to have replaced more than 50 per cent of around 30,000 BlackBerrys worldwide with their own Windows Phones.

Dell used to be a "100 per cent BlackBerry shop", Mr Johnson said, but using their own Windows Phones gave them "best coverage and best rate".

"We’re managing our cost base to drive more innovation," Mr Johnson told The Australian.

The announcement is somewhat ironic, considering Dell’s lack of a follow-up product to the Dell Venue Pro and what appears to be a clear step away from the smartphone market for both Windows Phone and Android handsets.

In the end if Dell was to complete their project they may very well have to look a Windows Phone handsets from a competitive OEM.

Microsoft gives away 25 phones to Blackberry horror story winners, will make it monthly

October 14, 2011 | By Surur

Microsoft has selected the 25 winners of their Blackberry (and iOS) horror story challenge, in which they asked owners of the above phones to say why their mobile OS have failed them and why they need a Windows Phone.

RIM’s Blackberry had a recent service outage which spread world-wide and lasted 3 days, both unprecedented, and Apple’s iOS 5 update also did not go off without a hitch, bricking many devices along the way.

Microsoft received 1500 responses and the winners had this to say:

Jon404: @BenThePCGuy I’m sick of drinking the Apple Kool-aid! I need some Mango to take the taste away
mattymorgs: @BenThePCGuy with #iOS still stuck on its bubbly look from 5 years ago,#windowsphone is the true ‘Think Different’ of UI style today.
jdnorthwest: @BenThePCGuy As a frustrated #DearBlackberry user I was shopping the Bellevue@MicrosoftStore yesterday for a #windowsphone
sweeneyben: @BenThePCGuy #DearBlackberry my Storm2 was great if I went back in time, but is so outdated, with poor service. I want to go back to Windows
joegaus: @BenThePCGuy i want a #windowsphone because only Beyoncé Knowles’ beauty can compare to those DAMN SEXY LIVETILES
jubbing: @BenThePCGuy #dearblackberry I want to use a phone where I can check my emails any time of the.. week. Sincerely, annoyed guy
jacobdfriedman: @benthepcguy I want to switch because even eight years later, iTunes for windows is a clunky, crashy mess.
chrisemmerson: Dear @BenThePCGuy how about u convert a beloved fruity phone lover & user with well world travelled phone from his free upgrade from the 4s?
salamahoy: @BenThePCGuy I got the new BlackBerry 9900. It’s been so problematic, I’ve thrown it against the wall. Now I have no phone. #DearBlackberry
ChamatkariBaba: @BenThePCGuy BB served as a paper weight for last 3 days and from now onwards I plan to use it that way only
~~mattymorgs~~: @BenThePCGuy ~~with #iOS still stuck on its bubbly look from 5 years ago, #windowsphone is the true ‘Think Different’ of UI style today.~~
KTownGMG: @BenThePCGuy My Blackberry has been dropping calls and really, this is it for me…..PLUS METRO…is one word…METRO! SEND ME A PHONE!!!!
jsteig: @BenThePCGuy I would love my BlackBerry if it didn’t crash daily and if I could install applications w/o it dropping to a crawl
TGProof: @BenThePCGuy also, I use my phone for business and school, without proper function it made contact very difficult. #UpgradeMeToWindowsPhone
phonomatik: @BenThePCGuy Hey Guy! Ok, iOS is lame. WP7 is much better. I like the hubs and tiles, they have a good structure. All Apps are good sorted.
mikehc: @BenThePCGuy I don’t have a BB, have a Pre. But I’m equally frustrated… Do I have a chance to win a WP7?
lazejanev: @BenThePCGuy I would like WP7 phone, because I want to transfer my enterprise knowledge on a mobile platform.Android and iOS are not for ERP
Cri5_09: @BenThePCGuy I want a Windows Phone 7.5 because Mango beats Apples, berries, sandwitches or any other fruit/nut available.
ijoostin: @BenThePCGuy I have an iPhone, but I want to see the world! I want to see what others see the future as. Apple’s can’t be the only vision!
qkns: Hi @BenThePCGuy, I’m the BB admin I have 2 give status updates counsel unhappy users & stay const. up 2 date on this mess. I want OFF BB!
erickmagnus: @BenThePCGuy RIM just don’t respect customers. They take 2 days just to inform "we are working on this"! I want a #windowsphone!
Chipstopher: @BenThePCGuy Dunno if you’re still giving away Windows Phones, but Id switch to Windows Phone gladly. At this point I wanna phone that works
MrJoeSterne: @benthepcguy man, updating to iOS 5 was worse than installing windows- by a long shot!
Xadacka: @BenThePCGuy sick of it crashing, rebooting, slowing down… nice wp7 device sure would make things easier on me!
finntannermom: @BenThePCGuy to save a marriage! I cannot reach my husband need a #windowsphone #DearBlackberry>

Microsoft is now looking to make this a regular event, though not at this scale.

Ben Rudolph, the PC Guy, writes:

So here’s what I’ll be doing from now on; send your story about why you want (or need) a Windows Phone to my Ben the PC Guy email address. Do you need it for work, and can’t live without our built-in Office features? Are you a social butterfly and love the fact that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are baked right in? Do you drool over the beauty of live tiles? Whatever the reason is, I want to hear about it.

Every month, I’ll select a story that I think is unique and compelling and I’ll get that person a Windows Phone. A few weeks later, I’ll catch up with the winner and post a blog on how their new Windows Phone has changed their life.

To take him up on the deal, send him an email here at benthepcguy@live.com.

While the promotion is great, I think one phone a month is a bit stingy. How about one a day as a great way to start an internet meme, and on twitter rather than email?

Read the full post at Microsoft here.

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In wake of outage, nearly 20% of Blackberry owners planning to move to other platforms

October 13, 2011 | By Surur

RIM’s US market share has plunged in US over the last 40 weeks of this year.

In an online survey carried out on Wednesday Communication Mobility polled 307 BlackBerry users, surveyed amongst CBR’s senior IT decision-maker audience.

The results indicate that 18% (56 respondents) said they or their company is already in the process of switching from BlackBerry to another platform such as Apple’s iPhone, Android or Windows Phone.

A further 34% (106 respondents) said they or their company should now consider moving to a different mobile platform following the service disruption this week.

Only 37% (115 respondents) of users said they would be remaining with the company as their smartphone provider of choice.

The worldwide service failure crippled Blackberries worldwide and unleashed a storm of criticism on the company. RIM only restored service today.

The company has already seen a massive fall in their market share so far this year, as is illustrated in the above graphic by Statcounter, showing the online presence of Blackberry users in US.

Microsoft is hoping to pick up some of the defectors, and have already offered to give 25 Windows Phones away to Blackberry users with the best outage horror stories.

Blackberry strangling itself with 3rd day of failure

October 12, 2011 | By Surur

Currently Windows Phone 7 is in competition for 3rd play in the smartphone market, with Windows Phone 7 edging upwards slowly, and RIM plunging downwards rather rapidly.

Now the company has decided to accelerate its fate by failing for the 3rd day to fix connectivity issues in its data centre, with problems expanding from the Middle East and Europe to now also enveloping USA.

“It’s a blow upon a bruise. It comes at a bad time,” said Richard Windsor, global technology specialist at Nomura.

“One possibility could be that it encourages client companies to look more at other options such as allowing users to connect their own devices to the corporate server and save themselves the cost of buying everyone a BlackBerry.”

RIM routes all data through its data centres, meaning not only email and BBM is affected, but services as simple as browsing the web is virtually impossible, and users can not even turn to alternative systems such as WhatsApp for their messaging fix.

The failure comes at a crucial time when numerous new smartphones, including the iPhone 4S and new Windows Phone 7.5 handsets with great messaging features, which are not dependent on a centralized and vulnerable data centre, are being released.

Following a dismal set of quarterly results and a plunge in its share price, some investors are now calling for a breakup or sale, with Jaguar investment group saying 8% of investors are called for a change in leadership in the company.

If there is one reassuring element it is that as users leave for other platforms less and less people in the future will be affected by these outages.

Via The Star.com

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RIM’s market share plunging into single digits

September 16, 2011 | By Surur

Microsoft’s biggest competitor for the 3rd ecosystem is RIM’s Blackberry, and after their company revealed their latest numbers in their quarterly financial results yesterday it is clear they are offering very little resistance.

This quarter they shipped only 10.6 million phones, and according to Asymco their phone shipments have dropped 11% year-on-year and 18% sequentially and have been shrining for the second quarter in a row, despite good international sales.

As a result their share price has dropped by more than half in the last 6 months and 20% today.

"While RIM management remains bullish on its prospects for the PlayBook and new Blackberry 7 smartphones, we maintain our more cautious view," Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley wrote Friday in a research note. "We believe RIM is underestimating the increasingly competitive smartphone environment."

Of course it may seem that RIM is just joining Windows Phone 7 in the doldrums which is hardly anything for a Windows Phone 7 fan to be happy about.

(Axis different)

However it is the direction of travel which is important. While Blackberry has been shrinking in market share and installed base, at least in US, Windows Phone 7 is slowly rising, and it would not take much more sales growth (especially with Nokia entering the market) for Windows Phone to be clearly ahead of RIM, and then it is all downhill from here to webOS land.

Read more about RIM’s woes at CNN.com here.

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Average app in Marketplace gets 80% more downloads than iPhone app store

September 8, 2011 | By Surur

Research2Guidance have released some numbers suggesting once again that the Windows Phone 7 marketplace deserves attention from developers.

They show, compared to the iOS App store, each app will get 80% more downloads on average, ie. a random app on iOs may get 100 downloads per month on iOS and 180 in Marketplace.

This of course is due to the hypercompetitive iOS market, with more than 400,000 other apps to compete with.

While some have joked Windows Phone 7 has more apps than users, in fact with 30,000 apps and 5 million + users, Windows Phone 7 actually has much less available apps per user, making it a significantly easier environment for a developer to compete in. Of course Marketplace has less potential for run-away hits which make random developers rich, but for the average developer it may be a better option than the crowded iOS and Android platform.

Symbian also sees high downloads per app, due to a massive legacy user base and small number of apps, despite relatively unengaged users, with RIMs store benefiting from a similar element.

The fact that Windows Phone 7, with only a fraction of the installed base as Symbian or RIM, and apps stores of roughly the same size, has downloads per app in between the two suggests Windows Phone 7 users are voracious app downloaders, much more so than Symbian and Blackberry users, and as the user base of Windows Phone 7 users grow developers will also see significantly more profit on the platform also.

See more data at Research2Guidance.com here.

Via TechRadar.com

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Canaccord analysts: Carrier support and OEMs focus on Windows Phone 7 as a third competitive smartphone ecosystem

September 7, 2011 | By Surur

RIM may not know they are dead already.

Microsoft has said from the start they want Windows Phone 7 to be the third major ecosystem, and it seems, slowly but surely, they are winning over the market to the idea.

Michael Walkley and Matthew Ramsay of Canaccord Genuity have released a rather pessimistic report on RIM, noting despite strong initial demand for the refreshed Torch and Bold models “These new products have not altered trends of ongoing consumer share losses.”

“With our checks indicated increased carrier support and [manufacturer] focus on [Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone 7] as a third competitive smartphone ecosystem versus [Google Inc.'s Android] and [Apple's iOS], we believe RIM with its QNX strategy faces a steep uphill climb to regain consumer mindshare,” they concluded.

Nokia has itself abandoned their Symbian and Meego efforts to place their ecosystem bets on a more complete and competitive solution like Windows Phone 7, and Achim Berg from Microsoft has recently said the prediction of 20% market share in 2015 may be “conservative.”

RIM on the other hand has recently been urged by share holders to sell off its patent trove as a way to raise capital and share holder value, a clear sign of lack of confidence in the ability of the company to execute now and in the future.

Opinion: Its Time For RIM To Make The Important Decision

September 6, 2011 | By Pradeep

Research In Motion, the company behind BlackBerry smartphones is under much pressure to deliver products and show returns to its investors. Once they were the leading smartphone seller in US, but now they are slipping to No.3 position while sales of their key products are dipping. What happened inside the company? Its the same problem what Nokia faced just months ago. They are trying to stick with their legacy Blackberry OS which is out-dated and trying to push more and more products with the same OS. Of course, they are adding features by each release on the same old crap, so the developers have lost faith in them. Still they are developing good hardware but it gets sublimed by the poor software underneath it.

According to reports, they are even working on a brand new OS based on QNX technology which they acquired about a year ago. Again, just compare Nokia’s situation a year ago with RIM. RIM’s Blackberry OS = Nokia’s Symbian, RIM’s QNX based OS = Nokia’s Meego. Nokia clearly realized that their old strategy is going to fail miserably because the war of platforms have transformed into a war of ecosystems. Nokia felt that it can’t create an competing ecosystem against Apple, Microsoft and Google in time, so aligned with Microsoft after considering Google.

RIM may do the same by dropping Blackberry OS completely and go with either Android or Windows Phone and make the upcoming QNX based OS as their future disruptive platform. Its under urge to act because some investors have raised ideas to sell BlackBerry for patents, shake the leadership, etc. Instead of getting sold to someone for its IP, its better to adapt some ecosystem and keep the innovation engine running.

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Analysts confirm Windows Phone 7 as the 3rd ecosystem, but remain guarded

August 27, 2011 | By Surur

Sorry RIM and Symbian, but both of your ecosystems have already been counted out.

Despite lack of rip-roaring sales figures, the steady progress of the Windows Phone 7 ecosystem in gathering developers, OEMs and distribution has prompted analysts to name it as the 3rd mobile ecosystem, after the iPhone and Android.

“Windows Phone has a good chance to become the third ecosystem but the question is how far it will be from the two leaders,” said Michael Vakulenko, research partner with London mobile consultancy VisionMobile, quoted in Bloomberg.

“People will take Windows Phone 7 as the third one to go for but I don’t think it’s going to stop many people from building iPhone or Android apps,” said Hume of Future Platforms.

Vakulenko echoed similar thoughts, saying “Any developer who decides to invest in Windows Phone 7 needs to consider alternatives and that’s always Android and iPhone.”

“App publishers we’re working with seem to be much more enthusiastic about Windows Phone 7 than Symbian,” said Offscreen Technologies CEO Harri Myllynen. “Still, Apple and Android are number one and this will be a long-tail platform. I’m not aware of any developer investing in a big way yet.”

Stephen Elop has emphasised with the purchase of Motorola by Google, OEMs should be paying even more attention to Windows Phone 7.

"The very first reaction I had was very clearly the importance of the third ecosystem and the importance of the partnership that we announced on February 11, it is more clear than ever before," Elop said.

"By adopting Windows Phone as our primary smartphone platform we believe we can deliver a global ecosystem that goes beyond what exists today in terms of hardware, software, services and apps," Elop said.

"Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race."

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Zune desktop agent uses less memory than iTunes Helper, Samsung Kies or RIM Launcher

August 27, 2011 | By Surur

The iTunes client is famously a resource hog on Windows, which makes it an unsurprising reason why some people choose not to go down the iOS ecosystem route.

SaudiWP7 have taken a hit for the team by actually loading a synchronization client for all 4 major smartphone OSs on their desktop – iPhone, Samsung Kies for Android, Blackberry and Zune for Windows Phone 7.

As can be seen from the screen shot, the the Kies launcher is the heaviest at nearly 20 MB, followed by iTunes Launcher at 3 MB. RIM’s client uses a minimal 1.4 MB, and the Zune launcher a tiny 1 MB.

While the memory usage of the sync client is likely inconsequential to most people, it does show that the care and attention the Microsoft dev team lavished on the phone has extended to the desktop client also.

Via saudiWP7.com

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Stuck with a Blackberry? Windows Phone 7 skin now available

July 18, 2011 | By Surur

WP7-op-BlackBerry There are no more out-dated phones that RIM’s Blackberries, with user interfaces which owe more to pagers than anything from the 21st century.

No wonder only 26% of users are very satisfied with their handsets, and only 4% of new buyers intend to get a new RIM phone.

If you are unlucky enough to be stuck with a Blackberry you can still get a small taste of Windows phone 7, with this new skin called Mo7 by drkapprentice designs.

The skin is available in 7 colours,four opacity settings and is suitable for both touch and non-touch devices.

The skin is only $1.99, down from $5.99, but you might just want to do yourself a favour by springing for the real thing for not much from your local carrier.

The app can be found here.

Via allaboutphones.nl.

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