Research In (Downward) Motion
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Research In Motion (RIM) once dominated the smartphone market with its BlackBerry devices but has seen its market share plummet since the rise of the iPhone. RIM reported losses in its most recent quarterly report, in stark contrast to profits from the same period the previous year. The company is now worth just $1.77 billion. RIM hopes its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, unveiled in 2012, will help revive its fortunes, but Apple's iOS 6 may have changed the game. RIM is now considering splitting up the company through mergers or asset sales to stay financially viable as users increasingly abandon BlackBerrys.
Research In (Downward) Motion
- 1. RESEARCH IN (DOWNWARD) MOTION One can only wonder how things got so bad for tech company Research In Motion. For the better part of the 2000s, it had been at the top of the smartphone mountain, its BlackBerry being almost synonymous with said gadget. Then, just half a decade ago, Apple came in and proceeded to blow the competition out of the water with its iPhone, securing its place as the big fish not long after, and prompting more and more users totrade in BlackBerrys for iPhones year after year. Ever since then, RIM’s market sharehas been dwindling ever so gradually, with the latest analytics placing the company in sixth place. Coming into 2012, its first quarter fiscal reports indicated a $125 million loss, in utter contrast with its 2011 Q1 figure of $934 in profits. And even then, both numbers are a far cry from what RIM used to hit in its pre-iPhone years. As it stands, the company is worth only about $1.77 billion, which is a paltry sum for a company of this size. Clearly, they need to pull out all the stops if they wish to regain their relevance. Source:TechnGoBlog http://technogoblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/google-glass-prototype-makes-impressive-debut/
- 2. And pull out the stops they did. RIM CEO, Thorsten Heins has gone on record countless times claiming that the company spared no expense in developing the BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system. RIM is banking on the BB 10 being the product to save the company from its financial woes, and the OS’s unveiling in May’s BlackBerry World 2012 convention definitely showed that potential. Making consumers think twice about selling their BlackBerrys, the BB 10 showcased features signaling that RIM was finally ready to do away with old design hang-ups and adopt newer and more feasible functionalities. Perhaps nothing symbolized this change better than the BB 10’s virtual keyboard. After making physical keyboards a trademark of BlackBerrys since they first rolled out the production line, going virtual told the world that RIM was ready to step up its game. And then Apple presented its iOS 6 not a month later and changed the game entirely. While the BB 10 was playing catch-up, Apple’s latest mobile OS made innovations that extended the functionality of portable gadgets beyond their physical limitations. Its new Maps app’s on-the-fly 3D renderings of areas makes a good case of this, as doesSiri’s exciting “eyes-free” driver assistance mode (think K.I.T.T. of Knight Rider fame). It is this futurist attitude that has kept Apple head and shoulders above the rest. As for Research In Motion, the company is now backed into a corner and forced to consider last resort split-and-merger deals. RIM is hoping that selling shares of (or outright auctioning off, if it comes to that) its BlackBerry division could keep the company alive long enough for it to make another bid for resurgence. Whatever may go down with the merger, it is evident that RIM needs to do something, and fast. Gadget users selling used BlackBerrys for something better are increasing every day, and RIM needs to address this to stave off extinction. Image Source: http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/07/markets/thebuzz/index.htm Posted by Megan Cunningham in Blackberry, Tech News Source:TechnGoBlog http://technogoblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/google-glass-prototype-makes-impressive-debut/
- 3. Tagged: cash for berry, sell blackberry, sell blackberry 8310, sell blackberry 8330, sell blackberry bold 9000, sell blackberry bold 9650, sell blackberry bold 9700, sell blackberry curve 8330, sell blackberry curve 8530, sell blackberry storm 2, sell blackberry torch, sell blackberry tour, sell old blackberry, sell used blackberry, sell your blackberry, selling blackberry, trade blackberry for iphone, trade in blackberry, trade in blackberry for iphone, used blackberry Source:TechnGoBlog http://technogoblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/google-glass-prototype-makes-impressive-debut/