RIM CEO actually said BB10 is delayed only two months
RIM CEO actually said BB10 is delayed only two months:
"We wanted to make one thing really really clear Matt. And this is this product has to be of the highest quality so there is no compromise on quality. Could we have rushed it out? Probably yes. But the point is, it's a new platform for the next 10 years. We want it to be stable. We want it to be reliable. We want it to be of high quality. And in light of this, I think a delay of two months is disappointing, and the whole team is disappointed, but they will continue working hard and get it out in the first quarter and we'll get it right."
There is an embedded audio player on the left side of the article (CEO Thorsten Heins on RIM) and Thorsten's answer happens at the 6:25 mark:
RIM CEO actually said BB10 is delayed only two months:
"We wanted to make one thing really really clear Matt. And this is this product has to be of the highest quality so there is no compromise on quality. Could we have rushed it out? Probably yes. But the point is, it's a new platform for the next 10 years. We want it to be stable. We want it to be reliable. We want it to be of high quality. And in light of this, I think a delay of two months is disappointing, and the whole team is disappointed, but they will continue working hard and get it out in the first quarter and we'll get it right."
There is an embedded audio player on the left side of the article (CEO Thorsten Heins on RIM) and Thorsten's answer happens at the 6:25 mark:
Grasping at some serious straw. It's called spinning. Unless you think RIM lies to investors now. Delayed "two months" from...what, exactly? A fictional release date that nobody knows?
"Revenue was $2.8 billion for the quarter. That’s down a whopping 33% from last quarter. But keep in mind last quarter. To get a sense of how disappointing this is, the Street was expecting revenue of $3.1 billion. So it’s a miss of just over 10% Not pretty.
Earnings-wise, Wall Street expected a small loss (one penny per share). In reality RIM lost $0.37 per share, which amounts to $192 million.
RIM shipped only 7.8 million BlackBerry devices, compared to Wall Street expectations for 8.7 million. Again, that’s about a 10% shortfall.
Thorsten Heins says that the BlackBerry subscriber base is still growing in all regions except the United States
RIM is still cash flow positive. The media is already screwing this up, so it’s worth spending a moment to make sure this is crystal clear to our readers. RIM lost money when you look at the income statement. But a business’ actual cash flow is often very different from accounting profits or losses.
Looking at RIM’s cash flow statement, they generated about $710 million in cash flow from operations. This is a real number, and they are real dollars. However, almost $400 million of this came from a reduction in working capital.
RIM has a business that can still bring in about $300 million per quarter right now, minus some capital spending that will still be required. Plus, they’re implementing a cost cutting program to save another $1 billion per year (or $250 million per quarter). This means RIM can probably absorb a decline of another $500 million in cash flow from operations before starting to burn cash. The caveat is they need to execute on their restructuring plan for this to be true. Execution hasn’t been a strong point for this company lately.
On the conference call last night they actually said that the sell through for devices was actually about 10.5 million versus the 7.8 million shipped. They also said the sell thru for PlayBook was also higher than the 260000 shipped.
Things are definitely very bad for RIM right now but as usual the media is exaggerating how bad and ignoring a few key points.
But if RIM does eventually fail I'm sure many people on this board will be very happy for some strange reason. I guess they like seeing hard working Canadians lose their jobs.
Give me a break. Canada does not know tech. End of Story. Nortel and now this. Canada waits for govt handouts while Silicon Valley is full of go getters. You need to admit that it's over.
I wouldn't say Canada doesn't know tech. A lot of smart engineers/developers/designers come out of Canada.
The problem is there is a lack of VC funding AND financial incentive for people to stay in the country. Engineers easily earn 50% - 100% in the Bay Area compared to staying in one of the major Canadian cities.
Nortel and RIM are bad Canadian stories, but we can easily compile a bunch of U.S. tech startups that also fell from grace, like Buy.com, MySpace, RealNetworks, theGlobe, Worldcom, while current companies like HP and Yahoo aren't doing so well either.
Give me a break. Canada does not know tech. End of Story. Nortel and now this. Canada waits for govt handouts while Silicon Valley is full of go getters. You need to admit that it's over.
Really? Your own article from the globe says otherwise. It looks like there is some great start-ups but it is more the lack of venture capital preventing them from growing or the quick cash of selling out early to a foreign company that seems to be some of the major issues. Unfortunately that is what happens when you have a good 'ole Alberta boy like Stephen Harper in power. He is more interested in selling off all the natural resources he can to make his buddies, and himself, rich at the expense of the environment and other more sustainable and "Eastern" part of the economy.
RIM, like Nortel, where the cause of their own demise. Complacency is not something you can have when running a business, especially when that involves anything related to technology. I still am holding out a little hope for BB10 to help their sagging fortunes but a lot of my previous hope was with an October release. I do know they are working double time as it seems here in Ottawa they have pretty much cancelled all vacation for the staff working on the OS for the summer and are even working 6 day work weeks to get it done, and done right....time will tell as I have been saying.
Canada does not know tech but another young start-up bought for $70M...again the problem seems to be people selling out early for big paydays.
Quote:
GoInstant writes software that allows users to share their web-browsing experience and collaborate over the internet in real time — whether with people in the same room or on the other side of the world. The company, founded in 2010, raised $1.7 million in seed financing and began operations in 2011.
The firm was bought by Salesforce.com, a provider of enterprise cloud computing applications that Forbes magazine has called the most innovative company in the world.
“The GoInstant team has built incredibly sophisticated technology," Salesforce co-founder Parker Harris said in a release. "We will help them scale and grow so that social enterprises everywhere can engage with and delight customers in totally new ways.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the tech giant paid more than $70 million US for GoInstant.
Grasping at some serious straw. It's called spinning. Unless you think RIM lies to investors now. Delayed "two months" from...what, exactly? A fictional release date that nobody knows?
Research In Motion CEO Thorsten Heins answers readers questions
Research In Motion Ltd. CEO Thorsten Heins answers readers questions:
As part of what seems like a new openness at the company, Mr. Heins agreed to take questions submitted by readers of The Globe and Mail.
We received roughly 200 submissions and chose 10, which we offered to Mr. Heins earlier this week. Here are his answers. (Questions were edited for clarity and length.)
1) I am a dedicated BlackBerry user (and PlayBook too), but I’m worried that between now and the BlackBerry 10 release next year, Android and Apple products will advance yet another generation. As mobile technology rockets forward at its fastest pace ever, will BlackBerry 10 be competitive when it is finally released?
– Stephen, 42, small-business owner in Toronto
Thorsten Heins: BlackBerry 10 is more than just a new smartphone. It’s an entirely new way of thinking about BlackBerry – new software powering new devices and new services. While our competitors update their offerings, BlackBerry 10 will be the only mobile platform built from the ground up with the latest technologies in mind – whether it’s mobile video chat or near-field communications that enable you to use your handset like a wallet. You’re correct, Stephen, mobile technology is a fast-paced industry and a large portion of the world relies on our innovation to stay connected. That’s why we chose the difficult path of developing BlackBerry 10: to provide a robust, reliable new way to interact with the world around you. Clearly, a project of this magnitude is not easy, but we believe the potential of BlackBerry 10 is worth the effort.
2) Why is BlackBerry 10 being delayed? What are the three or four reasons for the delay in consumer terms?
– Pam, 54, marketing consultant in Chicago
Thorsten Heins: There is really only one reason, Pam. We need more time to integrate all the features we have built for BlackBerry 10. While the core technology of BlackBerry 10 is ready to go – outside developers are already working on an array of applications – I decided that the way some features worked together and the related software integration needed more attention and refinement. The goal of BlackBerry 10 is to bring some of the best technologies in the world together in a seamless environment. Simply put, I could still see some of the seams. When you’re dealing with millions of lines of computer code that will be subjected to daily use by users around the world, fine-tuning can take time – in this case, more than we anticipated. We decided to delay the launch of BlackBerry 10 to give us ample time to integrate software, test, and polish the final product.
3) How do you plan on winning back corporate customers who have already adopted bring-your-own device policies and have no desire to run a BlackBerry Enterprise Server alongside their other mobile
– Isaac, 32, IT manager in Vancouver
Thorsten Heins: We understand that the corporate environment is changing as more and more organizations allow employees to use their own devices on the job. We are constantly talking to our customers and what they’ve told us is that they want their mobile systems to be easy to manage, secure and reliable. For that reason, we introduced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, RIM’s mobile device management solution, which enables IT administrators to control and keep track of tablets and smartphones on BlackBerry, iOS or Android platforms, while ensuring confidential and proprietary data is protected.
4) One of the biggest challenges for BlackBerry is having a good number of high quality applications. Have you considered dropping the BlackBerry operating system and moving to either Android or Windows Phone 8? This would allow you to focus on building great devices and taking advantage of already-established app markets.
– David, 30, software developer in Calgary
Thorsten Heins: We have considered a range of options that included adopting someone else’s operating system, but ultimately we rejected that idea. We determined that the best way to build value for our stakeholders and do right by our users is to unite devices and software with BlackBerry 10 – building each from the ground up so they work together without a hitch. With the global market growing as fast as it is, we believe there is room and demand for an alternative to generic software. We have more than 90,000 applications up for sale on BlackBerry App World today and more than 3 billion applications have been downloaded from our store. We even have a way to move Android apps to BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry 10, so we would actually be limiting choices by adopting another operating system.
5) I am proud to support Canadian businesses like RIM and I have been a BlackBerry customer for years. My needs and interests have been met in the past, but emerging products from Apple and Android-phones are quickly making BlackBerrys obsolete. I am currently in the market for a new phone... Why should I wait for the new device line and operating system in the New Year?
– Jeff, 23, research assistant/student in London, Ont.
Thorsten Heins: Thank you for supporting BlackBerry, Jeff. No one wanted BlackBerry 10 in customers’ hands this year more than I did. By giving our teams more time with BlackBerry 10, we could deliver a mobile experience unlike anything we’ve ever done. I believe the reason you should wait is because, you’ll see that BlackBerry 10 is not just a fresh coat of paint on an old operating system. It will be the only completely new mobile platform on the market. I’d be remiss, though, if I didn’t point out that our current devices powered by BlackBerry 7 pack quite a punch.
6) I recently bought a BlackBerry Torch 9810 on a three-year term. With the coming of BlackBerry 10, how much support will BlackBerry 7 users receive in the future?
– Ajay in Mississauga
Thorsten Heins: Don’t worry, Ajay. We’ll continue to support BlackBerry 7 devices into the future. We have a great lineup of smartphones built on this software, and we remain committed to supporting them.
7) RIM can expect that even a modestly successful BlackBerry 10 product will deliver results from the enterprise and business crowd, but a plan to make RIM products familiar among young consumers is a must for long term viability in this industry. Given that Apple already had a toe in the game with iTunes and the iPod to build a foundation for the iPhone, how does Research In Motion plan to build brand familiarity with younger people and students?
– Anthony, 25, law student in Halifax
Thorsten Heins: One of the misconceptions about BlackBerry is that it’s your parents’ smartphone. BlackBerry has a loyal fan base of young people around the world. For example, in South Africa, BlackBerry was recently voted coolest brand. Our incredibly popular BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, an app that makes chatting with your BlackBerry contacts quick and fun, helps make BlackBerry the number one device for mobile social media in the world. Every day, BlackBerry engages with more than 30 million social media followers worldwide through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, our Inside BlackBerry Blogs and regional social networks. A significant number of those fans and followers are young people. Obviously, we have work to do in North America, and we know that. As the father of two young people, I know how quickly the definition of cool can change. We’re confident BlackBerry 10 will appeal to people of all ages who value getting things done on the go.
8) I was a very happy user of a BlackBerry Bold when it was first released. I had this device for almost two years after which time I switched to an iPhone because of simple little bugs in the BlackBerry Bold software, such as the inability to click on the button of a web page, the need to remove and replace the battery because the phone locked up, the unreliable Wi-Fi and a bunch of other little annoyances. These little details actually matter to the end user. Will RIM under the new direction of Mr. Heins focus on just getting products out in the market, one after the other while ignoring the little details that can be annoying to customers, or will they actually make an effort to deal with the quality of their products up front and also correct problems after a product is released as they are identified?
– Marc, 45, engineer in Calgary
Thorsten Heins: This is one of my pet peeves, and I’m sorry your device did not meet your expectations. Based on your description, it does not meet mine either. I believe it’s the little things that distinguish excellent products from merely good ones. It is one of the reasons I wanted to give our development teams some extra time on BlackBerry 10. It’s also why I have been trimming our product lines to ensure that we have only the best devices and the most intuitive software out there with our name on it.
We do have strong support resources available if you have issues with your BlackBerry. We want to know about bugs and address any problems immediately. Here are the links to our support services:
9) With constant delays on RIM products (PlayBook, OS7, OS7.1), what confidence can you give us that RIM will actually now (after yet another delay) deliver BlackBerry 10 devices on time in the first quarter of 2013?
– Joe, 51, small-business owner in Alabama
Thorsten Heins: I am absolutely committed to this timeline, Joe. I made the decision to give our teams more time on BlackBerry 10 because I believe we must deliver an experience that is nothing short of exceptional to our users. The successful launch of BlackBerry 10 and the delivery of high-quality BlackBerry 10 devices remains the company’s top priority.
10) Why not put out new handsets with the old BlackBerry 7 and allow them to be upgraded with the new operating system when it comes out? That way people will be able to stick with RIM in the fall and get the new version when it comes out. Otherwise, I don’t see people in Canada buying Blackberrys until the new OS comes out.
– Tim, 50 +, computer system consultant in Toronto
Thorsten Heins: BlackBerry 10 is more than just a new operating system. It’s an entirely new platform. The software and the hardware are designed together and the operating system will interact with the hardware in ways that are very different from BlackBerry 7. This is part of what gives BlackBerry 10 its power. In the meantime, we are continuing to sell, support and update BlackBerry 7, which is a versatile and powerful operating system in its own right – with one of the fastest mobile browsers, voice-enabled search, and BlackBerry Messenger 6.
I find it interesting that there are a large number of people rooting for RIM to fail. I am pulling for them because there are thousands of Canadian jobs on the line. We should all want them to succeed.
I find it interesting that there are a large number of people rooting for RIM to fail. I am pulling for them because there are thousands of Canadian jobs on the line. We should all want them to succeed.
No one is pulling for RIM to fail.
Everyone just wants Neely to eat ******** of crow.
Unfortunately it makes it look like we want RIM to fail.
The people at the bottom shouldn't be the ones getting laid off. It should be the executives that ran the company into the ground.
If RIM gave two ***** about "Canadian jobs", they wouldn't have sat on their ass for as long as they did. And that's a lame argument too, wanting RIM to succeed because people will lose their jobs; these people can find jobs elsewhere, undoubtedly, where their talents will probably go to better use than they did at RIM, by all accounts:
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Let’s rewind a few years. Picture yourself sitting in an executive briefing at Research In Motion. You’d hear Mike Lazaridis unequivocally state time and time again that BlackBerry smartphones would never have MP3 players or cameras in them because it just does not make sense when the company’s primary customers were the government and enterprise. “BlackBerry smartphones will never have cameras because the No. 1 customer of ours is the U.S. government,” Mike Lazaridis would say in meetings. “There will never be a BlackBerry with an MP3 player or camera.”
There will never be a BlackBerry with an MP3 player or camera.
The fact is, that RIM didn’t only miss the boat in terms of product features and device trends as we now know, but the underpinnings of the company’s consumer failure began all the way back in 2005 with bold statements like these, combined with a lack of research and development in numerous key areas.
Mike Lazaridis would say that the most ridiculous idea was to name a phone with a marketing-derived name, like the Motorola RAZR. “BlackBerry will never do that, it will always be a model number,” he said to executives. “A BlackBerry with a name is ridiculous.”
“Here we are, as young, brazen people, and we’re just like, ‘Mike, you’re missing out. There’s a trend here; it’s a social and collaborative scene in certain media circles’,” one former executive said, describing the general feeling among other executives at the company. “Now look at what’s happened 4 or 5 years later — an MP3 player, camera, name, all done reluctantly.”
If RIM gave two ***** about "Canadian jobs", they wouldn't have sat on their ass for as long as they did. And that's a lame argument too, wanting RIM to succeed because people will lose their jobs; these people can find jobs elsewhere, undoubtedly, where their talents will probably go to better use than they did at RIM, by all accounts:
You do realize those people you are quoting are now gone and the new guy seems to have a good head on his shoulder? You make it sound like finding a job will be a piece of cake....ask the people that lost their jobs when Nortel went under how well that went for them...
You do realize those people you are quoting are now gone and the new guy seems to have a good head on his shoulder? You make it sound like finding a job will be a piece of cake....ask the people that lost their jobs when Nortel went under how well that went for them...
Depends on their position. Engineers/developers shouldn't have a hard time finding a job.
If RIM gave two ***** about "Canadian jobs", they wouldn't have sat on their ass for as long as they did. And that's a lame argument too, wanting RIM to succeed because people will lose their jobs; these people can find jobs elsewhere, undoubtedly, where their talents will probably go to better use than they did at RIM, by all accounts:
How is wanting RIM to succeed for the sake of its employees and for the sake of its other stakeholders a "lame argument"? What am I arguing?
RIM failing is bad for Ontario and bad for the city of Waterloo.
I am sorry but ''good Canadian people'' losing their jobs is because of morons at the top. Blackberry have never been innovative EVER. Their phones have a gameboy software and crappy apps. I guess, however, the OMG PHYSICAL KEYBOARD is worth having a fisher price software.
Everyone just wants Neely to eat ******** of crow.
Unfortunately it makes it look like we want RIM to fail.
The people at the bottom shouldn't be the ones getting laid off. It should be the executives that ran the company into the ground.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Capitaine Gionta
It's all about Neely. I have a PlayBook and really like it.
So let me get this straight, you don't want RIM to fail yet you're constantly saying negative things about RIM/BlackBerry in the BlackBerry Threads?
If you don't like BlackBerry Smartphones why do you even bother to post in the BlackBerry Smartphone Threads?
I'm not sure why me posting about RIM/BlackBerry in the BlackBerry Thread is so upsetting to you? It's not like I'm posting about BlackBerry in the Android/iPhone Threads.
But it is pretty sweet that you guys care about my opinions so much.
