Does anyone think that HP might want to acquire RIM? I'm thinking to beef up HP's enterprise Services offering. Seems that HP has lost its Services messages of late.
Nicole - The US government still values security, so efforts by some agencies are just beginning. If the iPhone is sufficiently secure, though, it could start a stampede.
I've not owned 1 RIM device that I can think of. my ex was a fanatic. She had the qwerty first and I had the "knock off" a Windows 6.0 phone that I wouldn't have relied on if my car broke down in Manhattan while parked and was about to get towed in 25 minutes and only a call was needed for crisis aversion.
When I think how much we pay for our monthly mobile services, seems that access/use of apps should be part of the service? Maybe a new pricing tier will emerge, and RIM can lead this change :-)
nathanwosnack -- The US government is mostly RIM, but some agencies are supplementing or switching to the iPhone and Android because employees are demanding them.
RIM can only bounce back if it comes up with something revolutionary. Problem is that it doesn't sound like RIM is putting a lot of effort on R&D right now.
Nicole - By the time app stores go away and -- what? -- HTML5 rules? -- RIM will be dead. I don't think app stores will go away for a long time, if ever.
Kim - RIM is actually going crazy trying to get developers. I know Alec Saunders -- new VP of developer relations -- he's try. But developers go to iOS and Android.
Does Apple or Android have the same kind of big business, government deals that RIM has? Is this being negotiated now that RIM may be planning an exit strategy?
Mary -- It's the lack of apps on the PlayBook. The hardware is nice, the back AND front cameras are high resolution and the QNX OS is excellent. But no apps.
"I'd be glad to compare phones, but I can't type fast enough to list them!" <-- HA Try LAG on a p4 laptop with 512 mb Alan!! I mean I've gone through 3 laptops in 16 months. (the oldest out of the three is still the baddest)
@Alan and Rob: Both of you seem to like the Playbook but don't hold out much hope for it. Isn't it just possible that this product could turn things around for RIM? That is, if conditions prove right?
The perception problem with RIM/blackberry in the enterprise that I see: workers don't seem to "choose" a blackberry, they are "forced" to accept it as corporate norm. Maybe a marketing campaign with the message, "I choose blackberry"? I think it would fly, but with a chuckle or two from the iPhone and Android crowds.
I'm even thinking certain edits/masters of songs are best targeted for certain phones. e.g; sounds HORRIBLE on a desktop yet INCREDIBLE with the iPhone 4s. The mastering that is. #musicDiscovery
The old days where everyone had all sorts of interesting phones. Around 5+ years ago. It was cute, and innocent. It also drove me nuts that people kept the same default ringtones, however.
@Alan not headsets.. the DELIVERY!! :)) utilizing TRUSTED peripherals for its consistent quality, WHICH PHONE provides the best output. It's NOT all the same.. EVERY device and its driver seem to have its own interpretation of sound.
I had an Ericsson A1228di TDMA phone. It was blue, and pretty and awesome. And had scanner capabilities built in. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uji3SmIXRMw/SCDrcQwn36I/AAAAAAAAGHU/q9ByzIfzvHw/s320/Ericsson%2BA1228.JPG
I like how you quoted portable. Lugging those things around wasn't always a treat. My sister had a Motorola DynaTAC. Remember the trick where you could put a piece of metal across the pins and use certain codes to turn the Motorola phones into scanners? Worked better than old school baby monitors.
@Alan do you have any recommended reading/viewing for us on comparison of mobile devices audio quality using earbuds such as Klipsch; is it safe to say iPhone sound is superior?
@Nathan: Yes, why not? It may be a good business for a cretaive company, knowing what to do with it and how to d it, changing things here and there and adapting/evolving RIM - but not keeping it as it is
those old analog bag phones, even with no service, still had operator services. And with the right social engineering you could get free phone calls. lol.
@nathanwosnack "The moment Google Android handset developers make hardware that doesn't feel like cheap, flimsy plastic is the moment I consider switching over. Right now the Apple 4x phones are solid. Heavy, and made of quality material."; hush your mouth!! have you seen what the Motorola Maxx(? <-- Alan please check me on this) does with the BATTERY LIFE?
The moment Google Android handset developers make hardware that doesn't feel like cheap, flimsy plastic is the moment I consider switching over. Right now the Apple 4x phones are solid. Heavy, and made of quality material.
smkinoshita - As an American, but a tech enthusiastic who LOVED BlackBerrys (still love the Bold keyboard) and still like Mike Lazaridis, it's depressing for me, too.
@smkinosihta "Man, as a Canadian this conversation is just so depressing." a very fast turnover right? almost breathtaking how FAST the market is changing in the arena Alan covers.
Mary, remember when Microsoft gave Apple $100 million and took shares and part ownership until 2002? Some memos leaked out show it was because of their long relationship, and of the patent war that may have ensued if Bill Gates didn't cooperate.
lin crampton - RIM needs (1) a GREAT BB10 OS, (2) a GREAT BB10 device, (3) GREAT marketing AND (4) GREAT BB10 apps that are unique. That's tough to accomplish.
RIM wouldn't be the first technology company to look like it might be sold for parts and then rise from the ashes. Wasn't there talk about AOL buying Apple in the 90's to save it?
note: MySpace doesn't stream music.. (won't say much more as I'd likely have to argue libel <-- word I learnt at Internet Evolution. said eevolution like insultant.
The Chinese have the money and they like brands (vide Volvo). They are very good at low end phones. BlackBerry would give them a mid range product line
Nicole - I can't see Google or Apple buying RIM, except if Google determines the patents are so valuable it would be a deal. But I don't think it will happen.
@Alan R Precisely and when theeir "unique selling proposition" becomes shrouded and overshadowed by comsumer-oriented qualities, they are vulnerable when the New and Improved consumer qualities - E.G. Android , iOS - come to rule the kingdom.
@AlanReiter "But RIM for years delayed offering high end consumer devices." - umm, Beyonce has a high end Black Berry.. $2,400 high end. there's an $8,000 one too (gold plated or something)
@Alan Given your response to my question -- The market has moved to a consumer-driven model and BB hasn't adjusted. Is it too late for them to bring in consumer-oriented people and change the game?
BB loyalists, and longtime users, (for unique, right reasons,) can tell you that the Company abandoned every "promise" such as "We will never become thus-and-so..." or "We won't become another amalgam like XYZ..." but ALL those promises were abandoned to the point where they they tried to be all things to all people, thus, competeing against most all others. Theere is nothing new in the anals of business history of companies who extrapolate to the point where they eventaully crash and burn , and then get "back to their roots."
No iPhone for us because we are using Google Apps for the office too. Just want to have more compatiblility down the road. Windows phone 8??? may work since we have Windows in the office.
They need to rediscover their core competencies and business purpose, then update for the world of the future. Are they up to the task? Companies do reinvent themselves. Can RIM?
I have had three BlackBerries and hated each of them. I also never understood what was so great about the email. I know everyone says it's BlackBerry's one saving grace, but I was never blown away by that.
RIM could turn into a software licensing company, since it did have its patents due to the Nortel purchases of those patents. It could lay off most of its staff and partner with companies.
Okay, here's another thing I see with RIM; they have highly technical support staff, and complex secure systems, that require a lot of training. Lots of custom made stuff, that would require an immense amount of training to any company who takes over. So the Microsoft + Nokia partnership for a take over would not necessarily be a perfect fit.
We'll have a quick intro on the audio from Mary Jander and our two mobile experts Alan and Robert, and then they'll join us here to take questions from you all.
Showing up early as I don't wanna miss this one. I live only a few hours from Waterloo and am interested in RIM and what they could do to save themselves.
and then I was wondering if the app worked well for someone. Or maybe it just didn't work as the psychologist had planned when having his enlightened moment
Agreed, Awilliams. But who do you think should focus there? Should it be players like Nokia and RIM that aren't going to succeed in the US? Or should it be Apple, which is so crazy successful and has the means to support the developing world?
Do yo know the 'Playbook' has a 'Workspace' completely partitioned from the 'Playspace' and also using the phone as a clicker when using the 'playbook' on 'presentation' streaming data from enterprise server.
@Nicole well how about videos in general? ALL the content of the Social Web. is it fair for the gifted hearing impaired? how much content are they missing out on that would allow them to compete ahead of the curve? new media content that is.
web w/o sound. I'm feeling compassion for the hearing imparied on the web. I tell you what Nicole. Go without audio on your iPhone and mac and your work workstation for 1 week. :))
Awilliams: It seems to me that there's no future for Blackberry. Maybe others disagree. But if there's not, I wonder what becomes of RIM. Also, here's something to ponder: Should Apple buy RIM? Should Google?
I would say... I wouldn't count RIM as dead and done just because. But at the same time their upper leadership is misbehaving so much lately, I think they really might senes the end as being near.
Anything is a good excuse to have cake. @JW, did you have extra caffeine in your coffee today? What are you talking about? :) Why Nicole would be mad at you?
:)) it was love at first site! the email invites were waaaaaaaaaaay cool! I was like WHO is this CoolGeek Nicole?!! she's hot and bright! haha see y'all in an hour or so..
1 thing that "still has me tripping" is what prompted me to join IE in April 08 after having "known" about it for 5 to 6 months. We didn't celebrate our anniversary!!
So, RIM's case seems to be a good example if we try to predict what will the future can bring for Nokia, if there is a lesson to learn from RIM, or not, and what RIM's next steps could be.
That's a good question, and something to wait and see. The strategy seems to be in firing employees at the manufacturing sites in Finland and opening new manufacturing sites in Vietnam. They save money that way, and keep Finns very unhappy, all at the same time!
Susan, I kind of think that makes sense. It seems like a good way for Nokia to maintain a presence in the world and a positive one at that. But... could it possibly make enough money doing that?
So it seems. A pity, though. I insist there should be a change of CEO. Today I got a release that seems to be positive if Nokia focuses on the developing markets and mobile phones instead of smartphones
As for the companies in their way of falling away... Nokia seems to be doing a good job lately. I am just this week following up on the latest news, coming and goings.
I have been missing you guys here, too. but hey! I am back and that's what counts, right? And yes, i am planning to be around at 1PM ET, reason why I am here just like a good little early bird.
Hello, Earthlings! It's been a while since I last visited you on this evolutionary planet of yours. So what's new? I see, some companies falling and others on their way...
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