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RIM BlackBerry 10 smartphones delayed, PlayBook written off
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News, Handhelds
Research in Motion wrote off $485 million worth of PlayBooks that it was unable to sell, as net income and revenue both fell significantly from a year ago.
RIM also said that a delay in a key dual-core chip will push back the release of the company's first BlackBerry 10 smartphones to the latter half of 2012.
Both Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, the company's co-chief executive officers, said that they asked the company's compensation committee to reduce their respective salaries to just a dollar, even as a cross-management team works to cut costs. Balsillie said that the decision had been made because of a perception that the company's management had "fallen short" of expectations.
In all, RIM reported a number of future disappointments, even as the company's top line continued in the black, thanks to its success overseas. RIM was profitable, even through net income fell to $265 million from $911 million a year ago. Revenue fell 5 percent from the same period, from $5.5 billion to $5.2 billion.
"We ask for your patience and confidence and hope to report further progress in the coming quarters," Lazaridis said in a conference call with analysts.
Click to continue reading RIM BlackBerry 10 smartphones delayed, PlayBook written off
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Staples Black Friday 2011 sale brings a $199 BlackBerry PlayBook
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Hot Deals
It worked for the HP TouchPad, why not the BlackBerry PlayBook? A sneak peek at the Staples Black Friday 2011 deals (check out our Black Friday 2011 page!)shows a huge price drop on Research in Motion's struggling tablet: just $199 for the 16GB version.
That's a $300 price drop from when the 16GB PlayBook made its debut in April.
Meanwhile, all versions of the PlayBook will get a discount in Canada: $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB. That will apparently run from Nov. 18 to Dec 1.
Click to continue reading Staples Black Friday 2011 sale brings a $199 BlackBerry PlayBook
RIM Announces BlackBerry Bold 9790, BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphones
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Corporate News
Yesterday RIM announced two new smartphones based on the BlackBerry 7 operating system—the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and the BlackBerry Curve 9380. The 9380 is the first device in the Curve lineup to include a touch screen.
The BlackBerry Bold 9790 features a 2.4-inch capacitive touch screen, along with the signature BlackBerry physical QWERTY keyboard. It is powered by a 1GHz processor, and includes 8GB of onboard memory, along with a microSD card slot that supports up to 32 GB of additional storage.
The BlackBerry Curve 9380, on the other hand, will drop the physical in favor of a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen. It comes equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and video recording capabilities. There are also a number of social networking apps preinstalled, including BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, and Twitter.
Click to continue reading RIM Announces BlackBerry Bold 9790, BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphones
Best Buy cuts price of Blackberry PlayBook by $150
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Hot Deals
First Sprint canceled the PlayBook 4G. On Thursday, Best Buy took $150 off the price of the RIM PlayBook tablet with 64 GB of memory.
The Best Buy deal is a far cry from the $99 HP TouchPad fire sale that captivated the technology industry in late August. The new, discounted price of the 64 GB PlayBook is $549.99, $50 above the price of the 32 GB TouchPad that HP discounted on August 10.
The discount means that Best Buy is now selling the 64 GB and 32 GB versions of the TouchPad for the same price, or $549.99. Best Buy has discounted the 32 GB version for $50 off of the list price. The 16 GB model is still priced at $449.99, with no discount.
Following the TouchPad debacle, RIM's PlayBook appears to be significantly overpriced, as the buyers turn to good, cheap tablets. The PlayBook is still less expensive than the 32-Gbyte Wi-Fi-only iPad, however, at $599.99. Hewlett-Packard has also said that it will make one final batch of HP Touchpads, apparently to soak up additional components from its upstream suppliers.
Click to continue reading Best Buy cuts price of Blackberry PlayBook by $150
BlackBerry Bold 9930 hitting Verizon August 11?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds, Rumors
We just got a tip that is telling us to expect Verizon Wireless to release the upcoming touchscreen BlackBerry Bold 9930 on August 11, just ten days from now. A few days ago, Verizon accidentally posted a video of the 9930 on its Web site when it meant to post a video of the BlackBerry Bold 9650 instead. We've been expecting an imminent release of the 9930, so we could definitely see this rumor panning out. Of course, we don't know until things are officially official.
BlackBerry PlayBook selling moderately well, so who is buying them?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds
It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing for the BlackBerry PlayBook since its April debut, but according to financial analysts, the tablet might not be a complete disaster for Research in Motion.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky estimates that RIM has sold about 250,000 PlayBooks to date, and could sell about 500,000 in the quarter. Abramsky and his team checked out PlayBook stock at 180 Best Buy stores and found that 14 percent of the 16GB versions were sold out, 71 percent of the 32GB PlayBooks were gone, and 84 percent of the 64GB tablets had been purchased. He cautioned, however, that the sell-outs on the 32GB and 64GB "appear allocation related."
Abramsky found that returns for the PlayBook are "nominal," despite setbacks that include a recall of 1,000 tablets and the lack of a native email client.
This comes about a month after Peter Misek, an equity analyst with Jefferies, speculated that RIM possibly sold 45,000 PlayBooks in the first few days.
Click to continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook selling moderately well, so who is buying them?
Microsoft should buy RIM
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Editorial, Features, Microsoft
At this week's BlackBerry World trade show, everyone expected the top headliner to be the company's just-released PlayBook tablet and its new software offerings. As it turned out, the gadget ended up taking second spot to a surprise guest: Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer.
Ballmer came out during RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis' keynote yesterday morning to announce a partnership that would bring Microsoft's Bing search engine to BlackBerries. Search is a big deal in mobile devices, so it's fitting that a heavy hitter from Microsoft came to give its blessing, but many took the appearance of the CEO as a clear sign of bigger things to come.
Does RIM know what it's in for, though? There's considerable doubt over whether the company's strategy and platforms can be successful over the next couple of years. If they're not, Microsoft could end up owning RIM.
"Will Microsoft buy RIM? That is a possibility and a fast track for Microsoft to gain a foothold in the mobile hardware business," says Harry Wang, director of mobile research at Parks Associates. "RIM's market capitalization is only $25 billion and Microsoft has $48 billion in cash. If RIM's value drops to $15 billion, it will become an attractive target for Microsoft. Maybe Steve Ballmer was planting that seed during his keynote appearance at Blackberry World."
Click to continue reading Microsoft should buy RIM
Best Buy offering free phones today and tomorrow, plus white iPhone in stock
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Hot Deals
Best Buy Mobile said that the company would offer three smartphones for free today, and stock the white iPhone, too.
The free phones? The Samsung Fascinate (Verizon), the Samsung Captivate (AT&T) and the BlackBerry Curve 3G (Sprint). But the offer is only good through Friday and Saturday, April 29 and April 30 - an extension from the "free phone Fridays" the retailer ran last year, including the offer of a free iPhone.
And if you're looking for one of those white iPhones? Well, they'll have those too, Best Buy said. The white iPhone will also be available online. There's no word on the available stock, however.
"We've had tremendous success with the 'Free Phone Friday' campaigns we ran last October and December, and we've been waiting for the opportunity to do it again with a great lineup of in-demand phones," said Scott Moore, vice president of Marketing for Best Buy Mobile, in a statement. "We've worked hard to make it as easy as possible for people to find the smart phone that's right for them with the most smart phones under one roof, exclusives and expert advice, and this is just one more reason to visit Best Buy Mobile."
BlackBerry PlayBook goes on sale, iPad 2 not worried
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds
The 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet goes on sale today in the U.S. and Canada. The PlayBook has a 1024x600 touchscreen display, and a dual-core, 1-GHz Cortex A9 microprocessor backed by a full gigabyte of RAM. It's offered in 16GB for $499, 32GB for $599, and 64GB for $699 - for even better prices check out the PlayBook on eBay.
While reviews for the new tablet have been generally positive (see our BlackBerry Playbook review,) the PlayBook had a tough time actually getting off the ground. It's been criticized for its lack of native email, calendar, and organizing apps. Furthermore, the tablet was delayed, which could be attributed to high demand for Apple's iPad. The release date, originally slated for the first quarter of 2011, was reportedly pushed back due to a shortage of touch screen panels, which Apple had already allegedly obtained for the iPad 2.
When the iPad 2 went on sale in the U.S. March 11, eager Apple fanboys were camped out in long lines in hope of snagging one of the popular tablets. In the first sales weekend, analysts estimate Apple sold nearly half a million iPad 2s. The tablet sold out within a matter of days, and the wait time went up to five weeks.
Click to continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook goes on sale, iPad 2 not worried
BlackBerry Playbook review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Product Reviews
After months and months of anticipation, Research In Motion's debut tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, is finally here. The good news is that the user interface for the new BlackBerry Tablet OS is beautiful, graceful, and operates with a simplicity that rivals that of the Apple iPad 2 ($499) and bests the Motorola Xoom's ($599-$799) oft-cluttered screens. The bad news is that, at launch, there's a lot missing. First, there's no native e-mail support. (Didn't the RIM usher in the era of mobile e-mail with the BlackBerry?) The PlayBook also suffers from a dearth of compelling—or smooth-functioning—apps. Then there's the absence of should-be-standard features—why include a front-facing camera, but no video-chat app? Updates, RIM promises, will bring much of what's missing to the PlayBook in the near future. Throw in some better app selection, too, and the PlayBook may be worth revisiting down the road, but right now, it's unfinished.
The Wi-Fi-only BlackBerry PlayBook comes in three storage capacities—16GB ($499), 32GB ($599), and 64GB ($699). The PlayBook is priced identically to the Wi-Fi-only Apple iPad 2 for the same storage capacities. Currently there's no version with cellular service, though BlackBerry users can use their smartphones as hotspots for the tablet at no extra charge. RIM has announced a 4G PlayBook that's scheduled to launch this summer, along with LTE and HSPA+ versions that will be available later this year. Sprint has confirmed it will carry the WiMAX 4G model, and Verizon and AT&T are widely rumored to pick up the LTE and HSPA+ models respectively.
Click to continue reading BlackBerry Playbook review
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