RIM’s Shares Continue To Drop – Will new releases help them?
Recently the Investors notated shares of Research In Motion Ltd. this past Friday and the numbers do not look too good. Several people are now worried that even though Blackberry plans to release more new devices, will it stop their declining sales in the U.S. or will the changes help the company grow again?
The shares were down $7.94, or 14%, to $48.65 on the Nasdaq Stock Market as of last Friday. Not only are RIM executives worried about the decline in the U.S., they are also seeing declines in Latin America as well as other international areas.
RIM's latest launches, the Blackberry Torch and the long awaited Blackberry Playbook weren't as successful as RIM had hoped for. RIM seems to be struggling with keeping up with consumer preferences, especially since the iPhone and several successful Android phones. RIM is said to have reached out to app developers and made several recent acquisitions of software companies to address shortcomings and make the changes needed. Several consumers and RIM followers have begun to question whether RIM is doing all they can or not. With the shares on a consistent decline, it doesn't seem like so or maybe they aren't trying hard enough.
So what does the future hold for RIM? We aren't sure but we do know that next week they are said to be releasing a brand new BlackBerry Bold at an annual conference that will be held in Orlando, Fla. Some also expect several new touch-screen BlackBerrys and new versions of the Playbook in coming months. The best part, Blackberry 7.0 is also coming soon and it will include an enhanced Web browser, new smooth and fluid touch interface and improved graphics for gaming and other cool features. Are you excited?
What do you think about the current situation? Is it too late for RIM to come back? Do you think the future with the new devices and changes will be good? Let us know if you care to comment. Leave your comments in the box below.
Source: WSJ
© 2011, GirlGoneGeek. All rights reserved.
The statement about not being able to keep up with consumer preferences is the understatement of the year. The company I work for made BB the “corporate standard” some years back and at that time the platform did two things very well. Voice calls and email. Beyond that there wasn’t much extra and they have been too slow at adopting changes and bringing out anything that the consumer market is going to go crazy about. When a company isn’t able to adapt they fail. They should have gotten that if they took a look at Palm and what happened to them when they started to get real competition in the PDA market.
No chance for BB at this point. They are gonna go down faster that a drunk prom date. Like what flash said above me, they simply failed to innovate when they actually had a chance to. This is kind of the same situation wp7 is in, IMO. They simply took too long to show any kind of innovation so at this point if they do actually come out with something cool its still going to be a very long and tiring up hill battle. Love it or hate it, its an iOS/Android world we live in.
Agree with both statements ^above..
Like PalmOS and Windows Mobile, RIM has been ever neglecting the consumer market for too long because “Smartphones” began as Corporate/Business Phones. And had huge contracts to be the ‘preferred supplier’.
Windows Mobile began new life as the newer ‘Handheld Embedded Devices’ – Motorla ES4000 basically catering to Warehouses and Delivery type businesses that require Inventory, Signatures, and the security of a Bio-metric Phone/device lock. (Features that are not really required for the Consumer Market). Which allowed Windows Phone to focus Primarily on the ‘Consumer’ Market with fluid OS navigation and slowly rolling out Features in a stable manner.
BB(RIM) will get a little help as Android suffers more and more from ‘Fragmentation’. The majority of Android Devices are not the ‘Highest Spec’d’ cream-of-the-crop. And with Handset Makers/Carriers not providing updates or even 2-year support for such devices (2-years is about average New Contract Length with ‘worthwhile’ discounts).
As newer Android builds and Features are released there are fewer and fewer Android devices capable of using those features. (Best Example is Native Flash which requires a minimum 800mhz ARMv7 chip, which means even though you may get Gingerbread Android 2.3 on an entry-level Android device (LG Optimus for instance with its 600Mhz) it still will not have key features available from Eclair or Froyo. And you have the same issue with Carriers forcing payment or lock-down stripped features such as tethering or Portable Hot-spot. While Rooting can restore some of the locked out features, most users in the ‘Consumer’ Market will not have a Rooted device. Which allows room and growth for another Mobile OS to step up and fill the void being created. Consumers do not care how features work or what loop holes are used to give them the desired ‘Experience’ – they just care about the End-User experience. (Bluetooth Voice Dialing is a great example…Some Mobile OS’s failed to include this so Headset/Car manufacturers stepped up with newer devices that had the features built into the accesory. So the end-user experience is what something that works regardless of the OS or whether or not the Phone/OS actually supports said feature.)
BB has been playing catch-up when they should be focusing on releasing something innovative. They have an Extensive Secured Network and have been milking the $$$ from it with BB Servers handling the e-mail, BB Messenger (IM), etc… This Server Based network used to provide Proxy Internet access which allowed for fast web-browsing but they turned that feature off a long time ago. They can very easyily capitalize on their Secured BB service. One huge potential feature for North America would be a deal with Hulu since the block was enforced. Blackberry can setup a gateway to only allow Hulu access from U.S. or North American users – something they have over iOS,Android,WebOs,Windows Phone and now Symbian(since it was made Open Source and never given the U.S. market share it soo deserved).
But this just my speculation…
We have had too many iPhone clones and Android as an OS went ahead of what iOS was capable of. While WebOS and Windows Phone have created niche user experiences that just have their own unique Flavor. (WebOS multi-tasking ‘Deck-of-Cards’ and Windows Phone with Zune and x-box live integration) The number of 3rd Party Apps is one thing, the quality or number of Useful 3rd-party Apps is another – but a consumer device that needs no 3rd-Party/Non-partnered apps to be Enjoyed is something to set the standard with.
short answer, NO, new releases arent gonna help.. especially since RIM Just announced OS7 and its not backwards compatible to devices, not even OS6 devices..