RIM Co-CEO: Thanks for The Business, Apple

Nothing pisses off the Apple faithful more than a day like this. Apple's (AAPL-NASDAQ) stock is down and Research in Motion's (RIMM-NASDAQ) is flat. Lets face it, RIM pwned Apple this week.

Alright, maybe not, but the Apple-onians are on the defensive, and this comment on SAI is typical of the tracks they leave all over the internet defending Jobs & Co.:

Wow, RIMM really looks like it's signaling it's in trouble. It's lashing out in every direction and announcing products way before they are launched. They are even leaking the next, next gen product before the next gen is launched.

If they watched a smart company like apple manage product launches, they'd realize you try to keep product info quiet until close to the shipping date as to not impact current model sales.Now they've not only impacted current model sales, they've impacted sales of the as yet unreleased Bold model since people will wait to see what the Thunder is like before deciding.

On top of all that, they pooh poohed the iphones touch screen saying Blackberry users want a keyboard, and now they are busy playing catchup. Of course, I think they are right -- Blackberry users do want a keyboard. If someone wants a pricey phone with a touchscreen, they'll buy the iPhone.

Although in reality it is only a gadget, RIM's new touchscreen Blackberry model, code named Thunder, is setting off a religious war between Cupertino and Waterloo.

But the Devil himself, RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, is setting the record straight over the development of the Thunder, and the history of touchscreens:

“Everyone’s trying to get into this game now. So they’re coming up with different innovations, we’re seeing different types of articulated devices, you’re seeing touchscreens, you’re seeing all kinds of stuff--the fact is people have grown up from the old dial-tone phone keypad. That’s the key.

I worked on the very first touchscreens. Let’s go back in time now--Gold Computing, Newton, Envoy, Marco--the very first touchscreens on the Sharp organizers, I had one of those. The very first Palm. I met Jeff Hawkins and (Donna) Dubinsky back when Palm was a block of wood, so I go right back to the beginning. How’s that? I’ve used all the touchscreens, I’ve known about touchscreens and I’ve watched NEC and Palm use full touchscreens since the mid-90s and what I watched was the whole industry eventually have to license our keyboard technology.

We have to be realistic about the history of this technology. We have to remember that this is not new--this has been done, this has been tried before. And there are other ways to provide a large screen and a Qwerty keyboard without compromising them by putting one on top of the other.” c/net

Lazaridis notes that, historically, innovation starts in the enterprise market and moves to the consumer market, not the other way around.

And while Apple’s iPhone is merely the latest handheld to sport a touch screen, the Jesus Phone has been good for RIM, driving people into the stores to buy Blackberries, in what Lazaridis calls the iPhone effect:

“I think that BlackBerry was the first and best integrated and most secure smartphone solution in the world a decade ago. And it continues to be today. But I think what happened was the amount of marketing and the attention (Apple) generated in the market--the customers are now coming to the store and saying I didn’t know you could do all that with a phone. And when they get there they realize there’s a selection--there’s not just one device. And so what it’s actually done is increased our sales.”

And if you think the Thunder was a response to the iPhone, rest assured; RIM has been working on this before the iPhone was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs eye:

“This is three years in the making. So I’m sorry but this wasn’t a response to another device. Either that or we have a time machine somewhere, or some kind of magic crystal ball or something. This was actually designed three years ago and the actual physical design of this product--I have the original models from 2006”.

Lazaridis’ refreshing honesty, which is rare in the business world, will guide you to the hottest trend in the world of handhelds. What is it?:

“Full Qwerty keyboards. I’m sorry, it really is. I’m not making this up. People are running out of their two-year contracts and they’re coming into the stores and they want to be able to do Facebook and they want to be able to do instant messaging and they want to be able to do e-mail and they ask for those features thinking that they’re going to get another flip phone and they’re walking out with a (BlackBerry) Curve or a Pearl because they’re the best devices for doing those kinds of activities. And so what is the defining factor? The keyboard.”

Blackberry fans will be pleased to know that pricing plans for the BOLD are leaking out, and while the phone would be a bargain at $500 or even $1,000, it will be priced low enough to entice iPhone owners who give up after dropping their phone 2 or 3 times, which should render it unusable:

Woahhh! It seems InfoSync World has gotten the details on ALL OF THE 9000 Series Pricing and Release Dates.

It’ll be hitting AT&T in July for $300, T-Mobile in September for $350, and Verizon and Sprint also in September for $300. You can click on through for a detailed chart. Keep in mind these are not exact release dates, and we all know how popular the $xxx.95 pricing is, but this is HUGE news for us BlackBerry users.

For a device like the the Bold, I think this pricing is DIRT CHEAP AND....BIGGEST NEWS… it could be coming to a CDMA carrier in LESS THAN 12 MONTHS?!!? CRAZY. AMAZING. SO GOOD. Crackberry.com

If that was not enough, it seems Jessica Simpson is on the right side of this battle as well. Although I would not kick her out of bed for eating crackers, dragging an iPhone into my bed would earn her a one way ticket back to Dallas to hang out with Tony Romo. But Jessica is a Blackberry user, natch.

The trading week is pretty much over, and RIM’s dominance nearly complete, although to be honest I am not buying the rumors Apple signed Ugly Betty as their spokeswoman.

Beautiful People Use Blackberries

Betty Loves her iPhone

_____________________________________________________

RIM’s Lazaridis on why Qwerty is the next big thing
c/net

Touchscreen, No-Keyboard BlackBerry Headed To Verizon
SAI

BlackBerry Bold Approximate Release Dates and Pricing
Crackberry.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author. No Positions

Comments:

<< Back to main