RIM CEO eyes significant plans for BlackBerry

 

Research in Motion s Thorsten Heins plans to waste no time in his new job. The BlackBerry maker s chief executive said he will present the board with his plan for company s future in just a matter of weeks.

 

The German-born executive, who took over from two longstanding co-CEOs on Saturday, said his plans for RIM would be “significant” though he did not divulge details in an interview with Reuters.

 

“I will have time with the board in two weeks to present my ideas and changes,” Heins said.

 

But the executive, who was promoted from the role of chief operating officer, said he has already done groundwork to tackle his company s most pressing problem – persuading the U.S. market to covet the BlackBerry again.

 

While RIM is growing in other countries, Heins conceded that its U.S. business is in need of a major revival after losing out to rivals like Apple Inc s iPhone at U.S. service providers and corporations, where it once had a clear advantage among employees heavily dependent on its email service.

 

“In general I wouldn t consider RIM as a turnaround candidate. It is a turnaround candidate in the U.S.,” he said. “We lost market share in this market quite substantially. That is something that we have to address.”

 

While U.S. operators such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc have helped BlackBerry with heavy advertising and promotions in the past, these operators have been much more focused in the last few years on devices like iPhone and smartphones based on the Google Inc operating system.

 

Heins  quest to regain ground with these operators has been complicated by the fact that RIM had to announce in December that it is delaying the launch of phones based on BlackBerry 10 – its next-generation software – until the later part of 2012 as it is awaiting the availability of a high-powered chip.

 

The executive would not say when exactly these phones would hit the market but implied that they would arrive in time for the year-end holiday-shopping season in the fourth quarter.

 

So in the meantime, Heins will concentrate on getting the most current BlackBerrys into more consumers hands. He noted that only 20 percent of U.S. BlackBerry users have the company s latest phones, which he says are competitive with rival smartphones.

 

The rest of RIM s U.S. customers have devices with older RIM software, some of which are “two generations behind,” he said.

 

To overcome this, RIM has devised a new upgrade plan with U.S. operators to promote phones with the BlackBerry 7 system, which was launched in August last year.

 

“All the plans are ready. The carrier agreements are all ready. Now we have to get off the starting grid. Now we need to execute that upgrade program,” Heins said.

 

While he did not want to disclose specifics about the new agreements, Heins said RIM could look at new ways of bundling different devices together or offering carriers smartphones with a package of pre-loaded applications.

 

He is also betting on the company s PlayBook tablet to compete with the Apple iPad tablet. This spring, Heins said that RIM will launch a version of the Playbook, with a high-speed wireless connection based on LTE – a technology that the top three U.S. operators are building into their networks.

 

Verizon Wireless and AT&T are already promoting LTE devices including smartphones and tablets from RIM s rivals. RIM s first smartphones with LTE connections will be in the company s BlackBerry 10 line-up, Heins said.

 

MOMENT OF SURPRISE

 

In his first presentation to Wall Street as CEO earlier this week, Heins said he did not think the company needed drastic change, causing some analysts to worry that the executive would not do enough to reverse the company s fortunes.

 

But the executive said on Friday that he was merely telling Wall Street that he does not want to change the core of RIM.

 

“Is RIM up for sale, is RIM up for a split-up?” He rejected those possibilities as “a drastic, seismic change because it would tear the company apart.”

 

Heins, who has been with RIM for four years after spending over two decades at German engineering group Siemens, was became COO responsible for software and products seven months ago.

 

He explained that RIM had succession plans for co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie in place for some time and that he had an inkling that he was being groomed to follow in their footsteps when he was named COO.

 

“The moment they tell you it s still a surprise,” Heins said, smiling broadly and adding that he immediately said yes.

 

Lazaridis and Balsillie, who turned the BlackBerry maker into a global company and a household name, stepped down last week but will remain on the board.

 

Some analysts have worried whether these executives would have too much of a say in the future strategy of the company because of their position on the board.

 

Heins said, it would be an advantage to be able to tap into the experience and company knowledge of RIM founder Lazaridis, but he made it clear that he would be the one calling the shots.

 

“What I do with the company is my decision. The CEO runs the company.” 

Apple in record growth over iphone sale

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple blew past forecasts and reported record quarterly net profit and revenue in the first quarter since the death of founder Steve Jobs, driven by strong sales of the new iPhone.

Apple said its net profit more than doubled in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 to a record $13.06 billion while revenue soared to an all-time high of $46.33 billion from $26.74 billion a year ago.

Earnings per share of $13.87 easily surpassed the $10.08 per share expected by Wall Street analysts.

Apple said it sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter which ended on December 31, up 128 percent from a year ago, and 15.43 million iPads, a 111 percent increase.

The California-based gadget-maker sold 5.2 million Macintosh computers in the quarter, up 26 percent, and 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent decline from a year ago.

“We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.

“Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline,” Cook said.

Apple’s previous quarterly highs for iPhone, iPad and Macintosh sales were 20.34 million, 11.12 million and 4.89 million respectively.

Investors applauded the blockbuster quarter, sending Apple shares up 7.5 percent to $452.00 in after-hours trading.

It was the company’s first full quarter without its visionary co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs, who died of cancer a day after the October 4 launch of the iPhone 4S.

Jobs’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, was a guest in the box of First Lady Michelle Obama as US President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The hot-selling iPhone 4S was the “fastest iPhone rollout” in the company’s history, Cook said in a conference call with financial analysts.

“We made a very bold bet on demand” but the company was “still short” in some markets due to pent-up demand, he said.

“As it turned out we didn’t bet high enough,” said Cook, who took over as CEO from Jobs in August.

Growth in iPhone sales in the United States and Japan was “great,” he said. “We could not be happier.”

The fiscal 2012 first-quarter included a 14th week, the important holiday shopping week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Apple said it ended the quarter with a cash pile of $97.6 billion, compared with $81.6 billion for the September quarter.

“We are actively discussing the best use of our cash balance,” Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer, said in the conference call.

“We don’t have anything to announce specifically today,” he added.

Cook indicated the priority for iPhone expansion was China.

“We have a ton more energy in the China market today,” he said.

The iPhone was sort of a “catalyst” in spurring sales of other Apple products, much like the iPod’s “halo” effect on the Macintosh in 2003-2004, he said.

The iPad, which runs on Apple’s operating software, is benefiting from competition among other tablets and there is even some “cannibalization” of Windows personal computers by the Apple tablet computer, Cook said.

“We’re just going to innovate like crazy in this area,” he said.

More than 55 million iPads have been sold since its launch in April 2010.

Apple’s forecasts for the current quarter leaped over Wall Street expectations: $32.5 billion in revenue and earnings of $8.50 per share. The market had penciled in $32 billion and $8.03, respectively.

Apple’s iCloud, launched a few months ago, now has more than 85 million subscribers.

That was an “incredible” response from customers that marked a fundamental shift in recognition of the need to have numerous devices integrated online, Cook said.

He said iCloud is “not a product, it is a strategy for the next decade.” AGENCIES

Nawaz summons CEC meeting on APC

According to sources, the meeting has been summoned following escalating tensions between Pakistan and America.  All major leaders of the party have been asked to attend the meeting, which would also finalise its strategy regarding APC (All Parties Conference).

The sources said that the meeting would also deliberate a consensus over possible resignation of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan from Public Accounts Committee.

The death of the paid text message

The smartphone boom is a mixed blessing for wireless companies. While the devices have boosted data plan sales considerably, they are threatening to kill another revenue stream dead in its tracks: text messaging.

Dozens of smartphone applications offer “free” text messaging services, which allow wireless customers to send and receive texts by piggybacking on their existing data plans. That means people who download those apps — such as GroupMe, Google Voice, Disco, Beluga, Kik and WhatsApp — are able to bypass the expensive texting plans offered by wireless companies.

What s more, an increasing number of free text messaging services are being baked into the smartphones themselves. Research in Motion (RIMM) offers BlackBerry Messenger, which allows BlackBerry users to text one another over their data plans. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) plans to introduce its similar iMessage app in the fall for the iPhone.

And Verizon Wireless embeds Skype onto every one of its smartphones. Skype bought GroupMe on Sunday, in a deal valued at around $80 million, according to several reports. Since Microsoft s (MSFT, Fortune 500) deal to buy Skype will likely close in the coming months, GroupMe could soon appear on every Windows Phone device.

Android malware on the rise

All platforms, mobile or otherwise, are subject to malware. The bigger platforms, though, are the juicer target for criminals simply because the numbers are larger. After all, why go after a platform with 1 percent share?

Windows is the top desktop platform and a target-rich environment for criminals. It doesn t necessarily mean the operating system is any less secure than the competition. It s just getting attacked in far greater quantities. Android is king of the hill when it comes to mobility and it may be suffering a bit of the same fate.

With Android, though, it isn t just about market share. It is also how apps are loaded on the platform. With a model like Apple has with iOS and Microsoft has with Windows Phone 7, it is very difficult to get apps on the device without the app going through an audit to ensure it: does what it claims; doesn t violate a set of rules designed to protect the device, network, and user data; and most of all, doesn t contain malware. No process is perfect and surely somewhere in the 300,000-plus apps in the App Store there is some code that was written to cause some sort of mischief, but should that happen, Apple will just flip the kill switch and remove the app from your phone.

Android doesn t have those protections. First of all, the Android Market doesn t subject apps to the scrutiny that Apple does, and that has caused more than one app in the Market to be a source of infection. Just two months ago Google removed 26 malicious apps.

Secondly, even if Google tightened its application approval process, you aren t forced to use the Android Market exclusively. If you want an app on your iPhone, you are locked into the App Store. (This ignores those that jailbreak their devices. I ignore that group of people when it comes to security because they are deliberately bypassing built-in security features, so they re on your own there.) With Android, you can choose from a variety of markets, none of which are approved by Google, so who knows what you risk when downloading from those?

Apple sues Samsung

Apple Inc. sued Samsung Electronics claiming the South Korean firm s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets copies the iPhone and iPad. Apple s claims against Samsung focus on Galaxy s design features, such as the look of its screen icons, the lawsuit said.

“This kind of blatant copying is wrong,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said.

Samsung is one of the fastest growing smartphone makers and has emerged as Apple s strongest competitor in the booming tablet market with models in three sizes but it remains a distant second in the space. Samsung said it would respond to the legal action “through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property.”

Nokia and Apple have sued each other in numerous courts and as recently as last month Nokia filed a complaint with the U.S. trade panel alleging that Apple infringes its patents in iPhones, iPads and other products.

Apple is bringing 16 claims against Samsung, including unjust enrichment, trademark infringement and 10 patent claims.

ufc 115 video

UFC 115 Live Streaming: Liddell vs Franklin Fight Results – The fans are much crazy for this day because it is the time once again for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to bring the regular viewers another much thrilled and most anticipated episode for this month.

This is the UFC 115: Liddell vs Franklin, live on June 12, 2010, 10:00 pm ET live at the General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The UFC 115 live streaming is pretty much sure be the most searchable in the next couple of minutes from now.

As usual, the UFC 115 live streaming will be available via pay-per-view, but for some who cannot afford to pay for the PPV, you may still look a quality live streaming video in your favourite and popular live streaming sites like in Yahoo Sports, Justin TV, Vshares and Ustream. Even the iPhone thru the iTunes store can give you the opportunity to watch the said event live.Ticket reseller StubHub has only 103 tickets left as of the time of writing, and though tickets had been on sale for as little as $68 on Wednesday, a far cry from the $75 membership fee and $75 ticket price that was needed to secure a nosebleed seat initially, last minute MMA tourists have started landing in the city and grabbing what they can.

With media buzz reaching fever pitch and the local MMA fanbase increasingly motivated, those once low-hanging cheap tickets are long gone, with upper level seats now fetching $175 and up. Craigslist sellers are asking for less in some cases, with anywhere down to $125 being asked for single seats

gyroscope

iPhone 4 adds gyroscope for six-axis gaming
Apple announced the iPhone 4 today and introduced ten new features such as a slimmer body, HD video recording, and improved battery life. However, the iPhone is known for exploding smartphone gaming with hundreds of games from independent and big name developers to the point that Nintendo sees Apple as its main threat now. So, what did Apple add to the iPhone 4 for gaming? How about a 3-axis gyroscope to improve motion controls.

The new 3-axis gyroscope in combination with the existing accelerometer giives the iPhone six-axis mtion sensing (up/down, side to side, forward/backward, pitch/roll). Developers will be able to use the new gyroscope with the CoreMotion API to create games and applications for the smart phone.
According to the information we received today, the phone will be released on June 24th in the U.S. other countries have not been mentioned so far.

The phone will have an enhanced image quality thanks to the Retinal display technology so the screen now displays 326 pixels per inch.
This announcement got a few hearty cheers apparently from the audience at WWDC, and as many iPhone app developers concentrate on the lucrative gaming segment, this isn’t too surprising. Some gaming applications that we can think of right off the bat include flight simulators, better augmented reality apps that take into account elevation/pitch changes, sport games (image iPhone 4 + Wii) and as Jobs demoed, games such as Jenga:

The game that immediately sticks out to me that would benefit the most from this extra degree of control would be a game like Zen Bound [$2.99 / Free], as I imagine manipulating the objects you wrap could be even easier with yet another degree of control. It’s not hard to think of other games that could be enhanced by the extremely precise motion tracking, especially if you’ve ever used a Wii Motion Plus and have seen just how much the addition of a gyroscope can improve how accurately a game can track your movement.

Like anything on the App Store, it’s up to developers to implement these new features. All we can do is wait and see what they come up with once they finally get the device in their hands.

wwe viewers choice

This coming Monday is going be a 3 Hour “Viewers Choice” edition of WWE Raw. Where we, the WWE Universe, get to select the matches and stipulations (well at least supposedly). Which brings up the question why hasn’t voting been opened yet? You would think they would have the voting process open since last Monday went off air.

My question is will tonight be a viewer choice where we get to pick the matches and the gimmicks for them. Or will it be just a gauge for them to see what we want. And later down the line take it into consideration. I mean by now, I believe they should know what we want, as they clearly read the message boards. If we get to pick the matches what matches you wanna see? Who you wanna see square off for the first time or again?
Matches will be announced later today. An eight-man tag match with John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and Big Show vs. Sheamus, Edge, CM Punk and Jack Swagger is advertised as the dark main event.

Tags: angeles-angels, announced-later, college-coaches, down-the-line, iphone, life, manny-machado, matches, north, question, season, Sports, steve-jobs, voting-process, went-off-air

matt harvey

June 8, 2010 by Trend PK  
Filed under World News

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SECAUCUS, N.J. — The New York Mets selected North Carolina pitcher Matt Harvey with the seventh overall pick in Monday night’s draft, comparing the right-hander to Mike Pelfrey.

Harvey, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior, was 8-3 with a 3.09 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 96 innings for the Tar Heels this season.

“This pick goes in line with what we feel is important we talk about pitching, we talk about defense, we talk about speed,” general manager Omar Minaya said. “This pick goes in line with what we’re trying to build here. To be able to bring Matt Harvey aboard is trying to stay on that focus, especially with our ballpark.”

Harvey was a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels out of high school in 2007, but chose not to sign. He went 7-2 in both his freshman and sophomore years, but saw his ERA rise from 2.79 to 5.40. He bounced back this season to show he has ace-type ability.

“After going through college for three years, what I feel were the best three years of my life, getting to watch the draft and being selected by the Mets seventh overall is something I really take pride in,” Harvey said.

Harvey sometimes struggles with his command, but has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and mixes in a power curve and a hard slider. His top performance came when he had a career-high 15 strikeouts against Clemson in April.

“As far as comparing him to someone that’s in the big leagues, you know, perhaps he’s someone in the mold of Mike Pelfrey,” scouting director Rudy Terrasas said during a conference call. “Big, strong, durable-type body with a good arm.”There has always been a disconnect between college coaches, who obviously want to win, and the pro teams scouting their players and want to preserve them for their own use. McPhail admitted he was “a little nervous, quite frankly,” when Harvey was chucking so many pitches. “I don’t know what other word to use. Anybody who likes a kid, you get nervous when things like that happen.”

Tags: angeles-angels, bishop-blanchet, college-coaches, iphone, life, major-leagues, manny-machado, north, north-carolina, season, Sports, steve-jobs

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