Can RIM Make a Comeback with the BlackBerry 10?
Can Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry smartphone make a comeback with its newest release, dubbed BlackBerry 10? If this recent article on CNET is any indication, any chance for RIM to regain steam looks unlikely. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the department was going to replace BlackBerries with iPhones—17,600 phones to be exact, as Reuters reported.
While this may not seem very big, it is when you look at where BlackBerry once was in the market and how a series of missteps have hurt RIM’s image and bottom line. The biggest misstep was the infamous BlackBerry blackout. This is not to say that BlackBerry has not tried to remain relevant.
They are releasing a new OS called the BlackBerry in the first quarter of 2013, but this seems a little too late to me. Both CIO.com and Frontal Labs say that it is too early to tell if RIM can save the BlackBerry.
CIO.com recently sat down with Thorsten Heins, RIM’s CEO, and asked him what went wrong at RIM and what his vision of the future is for the company and the BlackBerry. Heins obviously puts a positive spin on RIM and the future of the Blackberry, as I would expect.
In my mind, the newest iteration of the BlackBerry must roll out without a glitch. If the company were to experience a debacle of the magnitude of the Apple Maps problem, RIM could be done forever. Rob Enderle at CIO.com offers some sage advice for RIM and suggests how they can learn from Apple and IBM, two companies that were once on the brink of extinction.
One look at RIM’s financials might have most people shuddering in disbelief. The Great Recession aside, this company’s stock has fallen and remains in a steady decline. RIM’s stock price, once north of $140, was $7.62 on October 23, 2012. While stock price is not always the best indicator of the health of a company, cash flow is—and RIM has cash flow issues.
Another indicator of the health of a company is the market share statistic. In this case, BlackBerry loses again. While I am no stock analyst by any measure, no one can deny that BlackBerry has major issues—and the writing may be on the wall. I can say this for certain about RIM: They really need a homerun with BlackBerry 10—anything less and it’s game over.
