BlackBerry App World more profitable than Android, says RIM

Showing that it’s not quite dead yet, Research in Motion aimed to “bust a few myths” about its BlackBerry app ecosystem at the company’s Europe BlackBerry DevCon today.

RIM VP of developer relations Alec Saunders pointed out that the company is now seeing over 6 million daily downloads from its App World store, reaching 174 million per month (and over two billion downloads in total). But most importantly, Saunders wanted to dispel the notion that … Continue Reading

Dylan’s Desk: It’s the season for Monday-morning quarterbacking

If you subscribe to my newsletter you can read these columns a whole day before they appear on our website. And check out my other essays in the Dylan’s Desk series.

As the San Francisco 49ers fumbled their shot at a Superbowl appearance on Sunday, you could almost hear the Monday-morning quarterbacks warming up their complaints.

It’s no different in Silicon Valley, where the competitive sport is tech business instead of slamming heads together. Just … Continue Reading

New RIM CEO squashes Android rumors for good, promises little change

You’d think that with a new chief executive in charge, BlackBerry maker RIM would be making some sweeping changes to revitalize its ailing smartphone business.

But, in a conference call new CEO Thorsten Heins held with the press this morning, he reiterated his position on sticking with RIM’s current strategy for the foreseeable future. The big takeaway, which will surely disappoint many Android fans, is that he outright refuses to break up RIM’s control of … Continue Reading

BlackBerry’s leadership failure: The symbol of software’s triumph over hardware

The decline of Research in Motion‘s Blackberry smartphone, reflected in the resignations tonight of co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, represents the admission of failure — finally — by a leadership regime that had been in place for a decade.

More significantly, it represents the official triumph of software over hardware.

RIM has been killed by the guys in the valley, who offer superior software platforms, Apple and Google. But it’s entirely another question whether … Continue Reading

RIM co-CEOs will step down Monday…what took them so long?

After years of struggling to keep up with Apple and Google’s smartphone supremacy, Research in Motion co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis have said they will step down from the troubled phone maker on Monday.

RIM will replace the co-CEOs, who have jointly headed the company for 20 years, with COO Thorsten Heins (pictured). He has been at RIM for four years and previously worked for Siemens AG as CTO. He timidly said in an … Continue Reading

Samsung would be crazy to buy RIM (updated)

Imagine you’re a Samsung executive. You’ve just emerged from yet another Consumer Electronics Show, where your products and press conference were among the hottest tickets at an otherwise dull affair. Your televisions and phones have consumers drooling — hell, even your home appliances are popular.

What better way to top off all of your success than to buy the struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion?

If you think that sounds crazy, I’m right there with … Continue Reading

RIM drops most-expensive BlackBerry PlayBook models to $299

Research in Motion appears to be celebrating the new year with an extraordinary price drop on its struggling BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, with all models now ringing in at $299.

RIM had already cut the price of its 16GB PlayBook model to $199 during the holiday season, but now it is taking the cost cutting further by making its more-expensive 32GB and 64GB models $299. The 16GB model is also listed at $299, but with all … Continue Reading

RIM may oust co-CEOs as co-chairmen, says report

In what will likely be the first of many major power struggles at BlackBerry maker Research in Motion over the next year, the company is reportedly considering ousting co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie as co-chairmen of the board.

In their place, RIM is considering anointing Barbara Stymiest, a former COO of the Royal Bank of Canada, who has been on the company’s board since 2007, sources tell the Financial Times. That would make Stymiest … Continue Reading

Surprise! BlackBerry 10 OS is already being called a failure

Research in Motion has become the mobile industry’s punching bag lately and today is no exception, with a new report saying its upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS is all-around awful.

A new report from Boy Genius Report asserts that the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS, which has already been pushed back until late 2012, is basically a failure and won’t be able to compete with other  smartphones operating systems. This is especially true when you consider more … Continue Reading

Microsoft and Nokia considered a joint bid for ailing RIM

Amazon wasn’t the only company interested in snapping up BlackBerry maker Research in Motion.

Microsoft and Nokia, now close partners thanks to Nokia’s adoption of Windows Phone 7, also considered a joint bid for RIM, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s not clear if the discussions were anything more than a pipe dream, as the WSJ notes executives from all three companies often get together to discuss other partnerships.

With both Microsoft and Nokia struggling … Continue Reading

RIM said to have spurned Amazon’s acquisition advances

Research in Motion, the mobile device company in desperate need of a hit, apparently shunned the summer acquisition advances of e-commerce and hardware behemoth Amazon.

Amazon, a lovely suitor if ever there was one, went so far as to hire an investment bank to advise on a potential deal, but it did not make a formal offer, Reuters is reporting. The reason? RIM just wasn’t that into them.

RIM, said people familiar with the matter, … Continue Reading

iPhone owners likely to invest in Apple, but not even Blackberry users want RIM stock

You may love your phone, but do you love it enough to invest in the company that makes it? Well, if you own an iPhone you are more likely to also own Apple stock, a recent survey reveals.

SigFig, an investment tracking and advice website, conducted a survey of its 300,000 members to find out how loyal mobile customers are to the brand behind their phone. The results show that 16 percent of iPhone owners … Continue Reading

RIM: First BlackBerry 10 phones coming end of 2012

You’re going to have to wait almost a year to get your hands on a new BlackBerry 10 phone.

RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis announced today that, due to the delayed availability of the chipset chosen for BlackBerry 10 devices, its next-generation phones won’t appear until the end of 2012. He delivered the news during RIM’s Q3 earnings call.

Previously, we expected RIM to deliver its BlackBerry 10 phones — formerly called BBX, and which are … Continue Reading

RIM sings a happy tune for Q3 despite falling revenue, dismal PlayBook sales

Once again, Research in Motion’s attitude towards its dismal quarterly earnings sound inexplicably positive.

For the third quarter of 2011, RIM reported profits of just $265 million on $5.2 billion in revenue. That’s down from $329 million last quarter and $911 million (!) a year ago.

But it’s hard to tell that the company is in dire straits, given the tone of its earnings release. “RIM continues to have strong technology, unique service capabilities and … Continue Reading

Poor RIM: Loses BBX trademark dispute, settles on “BlackBerry 10″ for new OS

It seems that Research in Motion can’t even name an operating system properly without stumbling along the way.

The BlackBerry maker has been fighting a legal battle over the BBX trademark for its latest operating system, but today a US federal court ruled in favor of existing trademark holder BASIS International. The official name of RIM’s new OS will instead be BlackBerry 10, the company announced on its BlackBerry Developer Relations Twitter account tonight.

It’s … Continue Reading

RIM to take a $485M hit on dismal BlackBerry PlayBook, lowers guidance

Research in Motion will write off an astounding $485 million from lowering the price of its underperforming BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the company revealed today.

RIM has greatly struggled to keep up with its mobile device peers, especially Apple and Google’s various Android manufacturing partners like Samsung and HTC. The company has said repeatedly that its PlayBook tablet and a new smartphone OS, called BBX, would help lead the company to a new phase of innovation, … Continue Reading

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion brings RIM’s enterprise expertise to iOS, Android

In yet another blow for BlackBerry loyalists, Research in Motion announced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion today, a tool that will allow businesses to make employee iOS and Android devices just as secure as RIM’s own smartphones.

The announcement likely comes as a relief to IT managers, who have had to juggle multiple security solutions for corporate and personally owned mobile devices. RIM’s BlackBerry is far from its heyday as the only worthwhile enterprise mobile device — … Continue Reading

RIM drops struggling BlackBerry Playbook to $199

Research in Motion has decided to cut the price of its problematic BlackBerry Playbook tablet to $199, at least for the holidays.

RIM has generally struggled to keep up with its mobile device peers, especially Apple and Google’s Android manufacturing partners. The company has said repeatedly that its PlayBook tablet and a new smartphone OS, called BBX, would help lead the company to a new phase of innovation, but it looks tired and its latest … Continue Reading

Here’s what RIM’s next-gen BlackBerry “London” may look like

Zune says what? What we have here is a potential glimpse at Research in Motion’s first BlackBerry to run the next-generation BBX operating system — but honestly, it just looks a lot like Microsoft’s Zune HD to me.

It’s called the BlackBerry London, and it’s reportedly headed for release in June 2012, reports The Verge. While the image is still unconfirmed, it gives us a decent sense of where RIM could be headed.

According to … Continue Reading