Blackberry trying to avoid the hall of fallen giants

 

Research in Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, sent its co-chief executives packing last week and replaced them with Thorsten Heins, who had been RIM’s chief operating officer. How would he characterize his employer?

 

“We make the best communications devices in the world,” said Mr. Heins, who met with editors and reporters from The New York Times on Friday.

 

Not everyone feels the same way. Over the last year, RIM’s share price has plunged 75 percent. The company once commanded more than half of the American smartphone market. Today it has 10 percent.

 

RIM has two, maybe three ways forward.

 

The first — the one that Mr. Heins is clearly aiming for — is a triumphant comeback after a near-death experience. Think Apple and its iMac. RIM is on the verge of upgrading its PlayBook operating system — now with, among other things, e-mail, a feature that the original PlayBook bafflingly lacked — and will release the BlackBerry 10 OS this year.Behind Door No. 2 is a gradual decline and diminution as rivals like Apple, Google and Microsoft devour most of the market; to some degree, they already have. BlackBerry would keep the scraps — a small but dedicated following of corporate and government customers who want its proprietary messaging and security features.Then there is the third option: oblivion. The road of progress is littered with the corpses of fallen titans. Objects that once seemed as indispensable as the companies that made them have been mercilessly superseded — as seen below. And RIM ought to know: with mobile devices like the BlackBerry 957, it helped to extinguish the pager era.

 

SONY WALKMAN (1979-2010) Before the Walkman, “personal audio” meant holding a transistor radio to your ear. Sony’s invention created an entire category of devices and helped make the company the technology leader of the 1980s. New models (Thinner Auto-reverse) were eagerly anticipated, the LP was relegated to the attic and tender moments spent listening to mix tapes from that certain someone proliferated across teenage bedrooms. Sony seemed incapable of putting a foot wrong. It successfully moved the brand into compact discs with the Discman, then bought record labels and movie studios to bring about that illusory marriage of technology and content. When the digital revolution hit, Sony was too beholden to its proprietary formats, as well as to the inertia inside its media companies. Enter Apple and the iPod.

 

PAGERS (BORN 1951) At first, pagers were attached to people who worked in fields where lives were on the line. That usually meant doctors, though the group expanded in the late 1980s to include drug dealers. Early beepers displayed only numbers, giving rise to a numerical lexicon that included codes like 911 (call me back immediately) and 07734, which resembles “hello” when read upside down. Pagers briefly gained fame in early 1990s hip-hop, showing up in songs like “Skypager,” by a Tribe Called Quest. The pager’s fall was attributable to the disruptive and destructive powers of another technology: the mobile phone. Why beep when you can talk? And a pager message is so tiny that it makes a tweet look like “The Iliad.” The beeper does live on, in limited circles: its network remains more reliable than cell networks, making it useful to E.M.S. and other rescue workers.

 

PALM PILOT (1997-2007) Filofax brought personal organizers to their analog apogee in the early ’90s, but Palm brought them into the digital age. Palm Pilots were dazzling when they first appeared: all of your contacts, calendars and notes in one slim, pocket-size device. A touch screen, which required a stylus, made navigation easy. And you could add software, bought through an online store. Want a Zagat guide to go along with your personal data? No problem. In later years, Palm even added telephone features, creating a compelling, all-in-one gadget. Despite boardroom dramas that affected the company’s name and its ownership, Palm’s reputation as a source of innovative hardware and software endured until Jan. 9, 2007. Why that date? That’s when Apple introduced the iPhone.

 

POLAROID INSTANT CAMERAS (1948-2008) Edwin Land’s invention of instant-developing film in 1948 put a darkroom inside a handheld camera. That achievement gave his Polaroid Corporation a distinct advantage over traditional film cameras. By 1980, Polaroid was selling 7.8 million cameras a year in the United States — more than half of all the 15 million cameras, instant and traditional, sold that year. In 1985, it won a major patent-infringement suit, forcing Kodak to abandon its own instant-camera efforts. The victory was short-lived. The late ’80s brought the rise of the digital camera. By 2000, digital cameras began appearing on cellphones, placing cameras in millions of pockets. Polaroid declared bankruptcy for the first time in 2001 and stopped making instant film in 2008. Kodak declared bankruptcy on Jan. 19.
ATARI 2600 (1977-c.1984) It wasn’t the first game console, but the Atari 2600 brought video games into the home and popular culture. Over its life span, more than 30 million were sold. Pong, Combat, Pitfall and Frogger soaked up children’s afternoons. Then came the PC, which could play games and do much more. Atari rushed out games, assuming that its customers would play whatever it released. They didn’t. Millions of unsold games and consoles were buried in a New Mexico landfill in 1983. Warner Communications, which bought Atari in 1976 for $28 million, sold it in 1984 for no cash.

–Courtesy New York Times
 

UAE to suspend key BlackBerry services

DUBAI: Gulf business hub the United Arab Emirates said Sunday it will halt key BlackBerry services that breach laws and raise security concerns, a move Saudi Arabia may follow according to unconfirmed reports.

The UAE suspension would kick in on October 11 and last until a legal solution was reached, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said in a statement on its website.

It said the decision was taken “after failing to make progress in repeated attempts to make BlackBerry services compatible” with the Gulf state”s legislation.

“Due to its technical nature, some BlackBerry services, like the messenger, email, and web browsing, remain beyond the implementation of local laws,” the TRA said.

These services could “allow individuals to commit violations without being subject to legal accountability, which would lead to dangerous implications on the social, judicial and national security.”

“In the public interest, we have today informed the providers of telecommunications services in the country of our decision to suspend the BlackBerry services of messenger, email and electronic browsing,” TRA chief Mohammed al-Ghanem said in the statement.

Ghanem said the suspension would remain in force “until a solution compatible with the telecommunications laws in the country is reached.”

Saudi Arabia was expected to block BlackBerry messaging, an official at a telecommunications company in the kingdom said on Sunday, while another firm denied the claims.

“Orders are expected from the (telecommunications) regulator” to suspend BlackBerry”s popular messenger service in the kingdom, one official said on condition of anonymity.

But an official from another Saudi company dismissed the claim. “We continue to provide a full service,” he said, declining to be named.

BlackBerry has more than 700,000 subscribers in Saudi Arabia and 500,000 in the UAE, a country that has established itself as a major business hub mainly in the bustling emirate of Dubai.

In anticipation of communication problems that would arise from cutting the service, Ghanem said providers Etisalat and Du have been told they should offer alternatives.

“Providing alternative offers that would guarantee the continuity of messenger, email and web browsing to personal and business clients is at the top of our priorities,” he said.

The UAE”s largest telecoms provider, Etisalat, acknowledged the decision and pledged to provide solutions for users.

“Etisalat”s focus at the current time is to make sure its valued customers experience continuity of mobility services,” the state-majority-owned operator said in a statement.

“In line with its commitment towards its customers, Etisalat will soon be announcing a range of alternative mobility products and services for its existing BlackBerry customers,” it added.

Du also said it would respect the decision.

“As a communication provider in the country, we have to always operate within the regulations of TRA,” it said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.

The debate over control of BlackBerry services in the oil-rich UAE became heated last week amid complaints that data belonging to local users was stored abroad by the BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM).

The TRA said last week that the BlackBerry service could allow people to use some of its applications “inappropriately.”

The decision comes as Paris-based media watchdog Reporters without Borders accused the UAE of “harassing and arresting users of BlackBerry Messenger who allegedly tried to organise a protest” against an increase in petrol prices.

“We call for an end to this government witch-hunt against BlackBerry Messenger users who tried to get their fellow citizens to join them in a protest,” it said on Thursday, claiming that one of the organisers, Badr Ali al-Dhohori, 18, has been in custody in Abu Dhabi since July 15.

In July last year, RIM charged that an update issued by Etisalat was actually spyware, and that it enabled unauthorised access to information stored on the user”s smartphone.

The UAE telecommunications authorities control access to the Internet, filtering out material including nudity, pornography, and some political websites.

Iran says 3 Americans should stand trial

TEHRAN: Iran reiterated on Sunday that three Americans jailed a year ago should stand trial on charges of illegally crossing the country’s borders.

Excerpt from:
Iran says 3 Americans should stand trial

Asians more likely to buy gold in next 6 months

NEW YORK: Asian investors are more likely to buy gold in the next six months than their North American and European counterparts, a global survey found.

The rest is here: 
Asians more likely to buy gold in next 6 months

UAE to suspend Blackberry service

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates will suspend use of Blackberry services in October, citing concerns about security risks, the state news agency said on Sunday.

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UAE to suspend Blackberry service

blackberry bold

BlackBerry Bold 9650 will ship in May, RIM says

RIM today unveiled the BlackBerry Bold 9650, an upgraded, CDMA-compatible take on the popular BlackBerry Tour. But RIM stocks tumbled on Monday, amid fears that RIM is losing the smart phone game to Apple and other competitors. Finally – some smartphone news that has absolutely nothing to do with Apple or the new iPhone OS. On Monday, Research In Motion introduced the BlackBerry Bold 9650, essentially an upgraded, rejiggered version of the top-selling BlackBerry Tour. According to RIM, a CDMA version of the BlackBerry Bold 9650 will ship on May 23 to Sprint Nextel and Verizon customers. Finally – some smartphone news that has absolutely nothing to do with Apple or the new iPhone OS. On Monday, Research In Motion introduced the BlackBerry Bold 9650, essentially an upgraded, rejiggered version of the top-selling BlackBerry Tour. According to RIM, a CDMA version of the BlackBerry Bold 9650 will ship on May 23 to Sprint Nextel and Verizon customers.

Blackberry Outage December 22

Blackberry Outage December 22,Blackberry Outage December 22 2009:A reported national Blackberry outage today December 22 is heating up Twitter. BBM and the Blackberry national outage today is trending on twitter with recent tweets including the following within the last 30 minutes (6:00 PM PST):

Blackberry outage is on a wide scale, and the only trending topic on Twitter is BBM … blackberry messenger much?

is there another bb outage? my bbm or internet is not working …. and neither is alot of my friends

Users report outages on T Mobile and Sprint.

[angry] that TMobile only told me that there was a “global outage” with bbm after i called … shouldn’t we get notifications for this?

called sprint its a 24hr outage on blackberrys … .. i need my bbm!

Others are taking amusement in how some people feel their social “life” is now in jeopardy until the outage is corrected.

Blackberry outage is still driving me crazy, but watching people freak out on the crackberry forums is amusing.

Stop fronting like you not sick over this # BBM outage too.

My social life is on hold. No BBM or Twitter from my BB.

Others have some insight about the ETA:

no they are having an outage thats affecting 50% of all bb users you cant use your browser or bbm and they have no clue when it will

Data Outage: From our sources, RIM says the problem wll be fixed within a couple hours to a day max.

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Blackberry Outage December 22 was first posted on December 23, 2009 at 10:01 am.

Blackberry Outage December 22,Blackberry Outage December 22 2009

TrendPK.com Blackberry Outage December 22,Blackberry Outage December 22 2009:A reported national Blackberry outage today December 22 is heating up Twitter. BBM and the Blackberry national outage today is trending on twitter with recent tweets including the following within the last 30 minutes (6:00 PM PST):
Blackberry outage is on a wide scale, and [...]

Blackberry Outage,Blackberry Email Problems

TrendPK.com Blackberry Outage,Blackberry Email Problems:There is a Blackberry outage across America. If you can’t access your Verizon Blackberry Internet Service and RIM, you might be one of the users affected by the Blackberry outage across North and South America.
The Blackberry outage means many people are having problems getting emails on their handsets. [...]

BlackBerry Throws iPhone Sales a Curve: Gadgetwise

The iPhone lost its spot as top-selling phone to the BlackBerry Curve in the first quarter of 2009, but that doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the iPhone’s market dominance, said Ross Rubin, an analyst for researchers The NPD Group.

According to an NPD survey, the five top-selling smartphones between January 1 and March 31 were the BlackBerry Curve, the Apple iPhone 3G, the BlackBerry Storm, the BlackBerry Pearl (not including the Pearl Flip) and the T-Mobile G1 with the Android operating system.

The Curve was the big winner for two main reasons, said Mr. Rubin. One was Verizon’s “Buy one, get one free” deal for the BlackBerry. “That promotion pushed it over the top,” he said. Another reason is that the Curve was available through four major carriers, while the iPhone remains exclusive to AT&T.

Not to take anything away from the capabilities of the Curve, however. “It’s lightweight, inexpensive and thin, and it embodies the characteristics that makes the BlackBerry a popular phone,” said Mr. Rubin.

The fact that the Curve shot ahead on an aggressive promotion signals promise for the much awaited Palm Pre. “When a carrier supports a device, it does well,” Mr. Rubin said, adding that Sprint has promised record spending to market the Pre. The Pre may be the iPhone’s most prominent challenger in coming months.

Also notable was entry of the T-Mobile G1 into the top five phones, which signals the growth of the smartphone category despite the typically higher cost of their calling plans. “We see smartphones continue to gain share in the overall handset category,” said Mr. Rubin.

With the BlackBerry promotion over, the iPhone may recapture the top slot, unless a new iPhone is about to come out, said Mr. Rubin. He said that shipments of a current model tends to dry up prior to a new release, which can drive down sales numbers.

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BlackBerry Throws iPhone Sales a Curve: Gadgetwise was first posted on May 5, 2009 at 4:45 pm.

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