[ If I Ran RIM is a new editorial series by CrackBerry's Founder and Editor In Chief, Kevin Michaluk. It looks at the things he would be doing if he were on the senior management team or board of directors at Research In Motion ]
Companies have feelings. Well, that's not quite true. People have feelings. But companies would not exist without people. And on a week when Research In Motion's share value is trading at a 7 year low, my hunch is that a lot of RIM employees are feeling pretty down in the dumps.
If you read BlackBerry: The Inside Story of Research In Motion, there's a good story in the book that tells of how RIM's Co-CEO Jim Balsillie effectively banned employees talking about RIMM share price at work. If you got caught breaking that rule, you had to buy donuts the next day for EVERYBODY (an expensive fine, especially as the company grew to have thousands of employees!). Jim's take was that going public was just a way for the company to raise money to execute its vision - worrying about the day to day value shouldn't distract from the company's longer term goals and mission.
On a day like today I'm sure everybody in Waterloo was holding their breath to see what Apple is going to announce. And for good reason. On more than one occasion Apple has changed RIM's game. The announcement of the original iPhone set a new expectation for what a mobile device can do and how it should do it, and the announcement of the iPad forced RIM into the tablet game. Whether you like it or not, what Apple announces matters.
But I think RIM can breathe a momentary sigh of relief following today's Apple iPhone 4S announcement. Apple announced an iPhone with better internals -- none of which leap ahead of what's already on the market -- and in Siri introduced some interesting software, but they did it in a phone that looks IDENTICAL to its predecessor, the iPhone 4. Following the live coverage of the event, even the Apple fanboys and fangirls seemed disappointed. Part of that was the lack of Steve Jobs' presence at the event, but the bigger part was that it felt like Apple failed to deliver something really mind-blowing. If the iPhone 5 is now another year away, it seems like the iPhone 4S isn't delivering the kind of newness that Apple fans were expecting. Looking at twitter and some of the polls out there, like this one on TiPb asking iPhone owners if they're going to upgrade, it's looking like a lot of people who were planning to upgrade on the 14th are now going to save their dollars a little longer.
What's it all mean for BlackBerry? I think it means opportunity.
To put it bluntly, for the most part -- I really don't pay too much attention to what analysts say. I likely should, but I don't. Most of the time when I read articles related to analysts, the information gets absorbed into my brain -- but to me, they feel like the weathermen of the technology industry in this respect. They could be right, they could be wrong, but most of time it all just feels like educated guesses that they could win big on or bust and go broke. They have their place though and I realize that.
With that out the way, some information coming from RBC Capital Markets Mike Abramsky and Paul Treiber, piqued my interest when it was reported in the WSJ recently. The article highlighted the four things RIM will need to do during their transition phase and for once, I found myself rather agreeing with everything that was said. Most of which has come up many times through discussions with various others I speak to daily. That list looks like this:
Backwards-Looking, Uncompetitive Products and Software. Four years after iPhone launched, RIM still hasn’t launched competitive Smartphone innovations or addressed its ‘app gap’. With QNX, we believe RIM needs to renew its focus on innovative, bold user experiences.
Marketing and Launch Execution. RIM continues to ship products late (e.g., BlackBerry 7) and incomplete (PlayBook minus 3G/email, underpowered Torch 1; Torch 9850/9860 with inferior virtual keyboard, etc.). RIM needs to improve execution as competitors are bringing their ‘A’ game, and have out-maneuvered RIM on marketing, positioning it as passé.
Investor Credibility/Visibility. RIM’s apparent inability to offer reliable guidance (including Q2 miss and retracting over-optimistic projections) has created, in our opinion, a formidable credibility gap with the investment community that needs correcting.
Governance. To us, RIM’s board has an opportunity to take a more active role in providing a ‘check and balance’ on key management decisions.
It wasn't all that long ago Kevin went ahead and posted the "What are the Top FIVE things you would do if you ran Research In Motion?" article and looking through the comments on that post, a lot of what was said is reflected above in the words from Mike Abramsky and Paul Treiber. So what do you all think? Does this sound like a plan of action for RIM and something they should be doing or does this all just sound like more RIM is down, lets kick em talk?
Over at our sibling site TiPb.com, Georgia and Rene hit up the COMICON in Montreal to survey all the geeks, nerds, cosplayers and booth babes in attendance to find out which kind of superphones are getting used most by superheroes these days.
Is iPhone reigning supreme? Is Android gaining steam? Or is good 'ole BlackBerry still holding their own in the smartphone wars?! Check out the video above for some good times all around! I think Georgia and Rene went into this thinking they'd hear mainly iPhone as the response, and we're a little surprised by the amount of BlackBerry users. Go RIMPIRE! :)
OK. So I can't say for 100% certain that CrackBerry's RIMPIRE STRIKES BACK initiative is what inspired Canada's Future Shop to put RIM Strikes Back, BBM 6 is here on the cover of their latest issue of Cellshop, but I'm going say it did. Think about it. RIM isn't in the consumer facing brand that the average person knows.... BlackBerry is. So for Future Shop to decide to put RIM strikes back vs. BlackBerry strikes back must mean it was a conscious decision. A decision in recognition of CrackBerry, BlackBerry and our RIMPIRE STRIKES BACK movement.
Or maybe I'm crazy and it's coincidence. Either way, I love it. PURE AWESOME Future Shop! #RIMPIRE
Is it just me, or does it finally feel like the RIMPIRE is Striking Back? After months and months of negative sentiment in the media and a stock price that's been continually deflating, my BlackBerry senses have been tingling and my smartphone intuition has been giving me this feeling that things are finally starting to come around.
There are a lot of factors at play here, not all of which are in RIM's control. Of course, we're FINALLY seeing BlackBerry 7 Smartphones hit the market, and we've been seeing a lot of positive reviews out there for them. Obviously, these are the Best BlackBerry devices EVER (upgrade now!). We've also watched Google announce its intent to buy Motorola, HP kill off webOS devices, and Steve Jobs resign as CEO of Apple. Add it all up, and it's crazy times in the smartphone space. I'm not sure anybody knows exactly how things are all going to play out, but today we're seeing RIM's stock price above $30 - the last time it traded above $30 was June 17th.
For the longest time I wanted to avoid scrolling through my RSS reader - aside from BlackBerry fan sites mainly staying positive, it was pretty rare to come across any BlackBerry-related stories that weren't touting doom and gloom for RIM. But these last few weeks have felt different. The new BlackBerry 7 Smartphones appear to be selling like hot cakes (were hearing lots of stories of the Bold 9900/9930 selling out in stores) and with more rumors popping up of the QNX-powered BlackBerry Colt, there's more belief out there that RIM is going to be able to get through their technology transition and keep on fighting in the smartphone wars for years to come.
Overall, I'm feeling pretty good today about the state of BlackBerry. Am I alone here? I hope not. I don't think I am. But I want to know for sure. So vote on the poll above and sound off in the comments with your thoughts. Oh, and if you want your own RIMPIRE Strikes Back T-Shirt, you can download the logo here to get your own made.
The BlackBerry Smart Card Reader makes it extremely easy to make sure you and your business are in compliance with operational requirements for multi-factor authentication. It offers controlled access to your BlackBerry, computer (provided it is running Microsoft Windows and is Bluetooth-enabled), PKI applications and the internet, without compromising your security. This wearable card reader comes ready for a BES environment and will extend its features to enable AES-256 encryption overlay for Bluetooth, S/MIME support and wireless IT policy enforcement. If you venture out of Bluetooth range of your computer or BlackBerry, it will be rendered inaccessible. When we last had a look at the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader, Isaac let us know that it had achieved FIPS 140-2 certification. Today, the Card Reader took it to a new level- FIPS 140-2 level 3. This is the highest level of certification over any other available wireless smart card reader.
"Our customers value the robust security provided with BlackBerry products and services and smart card readers are particularly important within the government sector," said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. "This advanced certification of the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader for the U.S. Federal Government demonstrates our ongoing commitment to meet and exceed the expectations of our government customers."
Toting advanced features such as; tamper evidence and self destruction of critical security parameters upon device breach, the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader is a formidable opponent in the battle to maintain corporate security. This goes to prove that the RIMPIRE STRIKES BACK on every front. Press release after the jump.
With BlackBerry 7 Smartphones beginning to hit the market, I can't help but feel we're gaining some momentum again on the RIMPIRE STRIKES BACK front.
Loyal BlackBerry super fans are obviously stoked about the new lineup. These are by far the sweetest BlackBerry Smartphones to date (enter to win your choice of a new BB7 phone here!). Be sure to check out the video above from the recent BlackBerry 7 Fan Night to see what super fans are loving about the Bold 9900/9930 and Torch 9850/9860/9810. Yours truly makes a brief appearance at 4 seconds in giving the 'ole Rick Flair Woooo!
But beyond the loyal fans, what has me really excited are the number of tweets, emails, forum posts, blog comments and calls I've been seeing and receiving from people who are currently on other platforms but are switching to BlackBerry to give the new phones a go. Some of these are ex-BlackBerry users giving up the iPhone 4s and Android phones they left BB for, while others are picking up BlackBerry for the first time. Looks like we have have some new BlackBerry fans emerging here!
One such fan is Matt Miller, over at ZDnet, who posted an article today titled Becoming a BlackBerry fan when it's not cool to do so. I'm not a fan of that article of course - seriously, I'm way cooler than any iPhone or Android fanboy I know, but the article is a great example that there's continued hope for RIM in the mobile space. Matt is a cross-platform guy, and has his pick of phones and tablets from every platform. And right now, BlackBerry is the one he's becoming a fan of:
I enjoy Android, but grow tired of low battery life, constant app updates, and all the different user experiences. iOS devices are great, but I am not a huge fan of the current application-focused UI... The funny thing is that I am now becoming a RIM BlackBerry fan - at a time when people seem to be writing off the company and device as past their prime. Let me explain why.
You'll want to jump over and read Matt's full post, but the short answer is that when it comes to a no-compromise mobile experience, in a world where people own both phones and tablets, the combination of BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry PlayBook is a killer one. Welcome to the BlackBerry Fan Club Matt!
Klout is the standard of influence, as it itself suggests. If you don’t know about Klout, then Klout doesn’t know you.In a nutshell is a well-known one stop shop for measuring your online social influence. It “uses over 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability and Network Score”.
Klout recently pitted iPhone and Android against each other in a no holds barred Klout showdown. They compared the average Klout scores of both iPhone and Android influencers. After the smoke cleared, iPhone came out on top with a 42.0 to 40.6 win. So where does BlackBerry come into play? Klout was later asked to throw BlackBerry into the mix. From the onslaught rose a new champion…BlackBerry (in typical RIMPIRE Strikes Back fashion) emerged with a Klout score of 43.6!! I guess the real movers and shakers are BlackBerry users- don’t doubt the Klout.
I guess you can thank influencers like Kevin with his Klout score of 64; the Force is strong with this one. Mine is only 34.5, hmm I guess I have some work to do…
While Google's mobile operating system may have consumer market momentum with Android handset activations hitting 500,000 per day, one person who appears to not be in a rush to abandon his BlackBerry habit is Google Chairman Eric Schmidt. Schmidt was in Indonesia last week for an entrepreneurship summit, and one of our CrackBerry spies on the ground in Bali managed to catch Schmidt black-handed snapping a photo on his BlackBerry Bold 9780.
What's really funny about this photo is that it isn't the first time Schmidt has been photographed while taking a photo on his BlackBerry. Back in July 2009 he got caught using his Curve 8900 (see photo below). Past precedent is always the best indicator of future performance, so I'm placing my bet we'll see Schmidt upgrading to the BlackBerry Bold 9900 next month. I'm not sure what this says about Android, but it definitely says a lot of good for BlackBerry. Maybe it's the keyboard, maybe it's the world class security, the BBM, the battery life or impossible to ignore blinking red light... or maybe it's all that and more.
There's nothing really "new" in that Bold that can be justified as testing out the competition, so at the end of the day I'm thinking that Eric Schmidt just loves his BlackBerry. Smart man. Kind of makes you wonder if he also has a BlackBerry PlayBook running Android apps?
Michelle has been doing a great job on our weekly Celebrity BlackBerry Sighting Round Ups, but when Miami-based fashion blog FashionablySocial.net sent us in this photo taken this past weekend I just had to post it up. Seriously, bikinis + blackberrys.... how could I not post it?!
The photo was captured at the Mercedes Benz Miami Fashion Week Swim event, at the Mara Hoffman show. Gotta love dueling BlackBerrys in the front row capturing the models walking down the runway. Definitely a RIMPIRE Strikes Back kind of moment. Now if only we can get some RIMPIRE bikinis made up, they'll be a nice compliment to the RIMPIRE t-shirts. Click the photo to see a bigger version. Enjoy!
What a crazy week! After my trip to Waterloo, Ontario, the hometown of BlackBerry, I had to fly out to San Francisco for a few days... I'm now finally back in the CrackBerry offices playing catch up, but to kick things off and fill everybody in on my time spent at BlackBerry HQ we grabbed the team and recorded a CrackBerry Podcast. We actually recorded this one yesterday afternoon (ran into some delays that kept me from posting sooner), so take note that when we predict a PlayBook OS update is coming soon that it's already now here.
If you're a BlackBerry fan you'll want to listen to this one. I go through my trip to Waterloo in detail, covering everything from my time seeing Bold 9900s get born on the manufacturing line to my time at the Perimeter Institute, the RIM Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, and more! Take a listen. Enjoy the show. Still lots of blog posts to come relating to the trip!
The tech and business world has been reporting on the value of a Co-CEO position at RIM for quite some time. But the chatter really picked up steam with inventor Northwest & Ethical Investments LP called for the roles to be split up last month. At the annual shareholders meeting this week in Waterloo there was to be a vote on this proposal, but Northwest withdrew their motion and have give the company 6-months to show that this shared CEO role can work.
The rational behind this current RIM hating is a mystery to me. If the only measure of RIM was their market share position, than I would be at the front of the line wondering WTF the boys in Waterloo are doing. BUT that isn't the whole story.
Are profits increasing each quarter compared to same quarter last year? YES
Are the number of devices sold in each quarter increasing over previous quarter? YES
Are company revenues not tied to one single product or vertical? YES, in fact 40% over revenue in previous quarter came from licensing, not hardware sales
"But their market share is slipping and OS7 is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic!" Well OK the BlackBerry has 40% smartphone market share in 2009, but total smartphones in the US as a percentage of all cell phones was only 19%. So RIM had 40% of a 19% market. Fast forward to 2011 when many are predicting that Ontario Hydro will turn off the electricity at RIM because they won't have enough money to pay the bills. Smartphones now account for 40% of all cell phones in the US. And RIM's share is down to 24.7%. If I was running a business selling smartphones, I'd prefer 24.7% of 40% over 40% of 19% everyday of the week.
Is Waterloo the Garden of Eden? No, of course not. I believe that RIM does need to get things rolling and quickly, but the RIM Book of Revelations is not here either. Kevin's RIMPIRE Strikes Back campaign is spot on and needs our support! The BlackBerry platform is here to stay.
If you tuned into Research In Motions's Annual Meeting of Shareholders, you no doubt heard the statements directed at Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis from a former Queens University student who has an MBA degree in marketing. To put it bluntly, he put RIM on blast for their marketing efforts but he also took the time to go ahead and blast analysts for some of their practices when writing articles about RIM and their stock. Have a listen to the audio below:
While I'm sure some folks will chalk this up to him being a BlackBerry fanboy, he made quite a few valid points in his argument and even came back to the mic near the end to say a bit more. Needless to say, his comments were met with great applause.
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