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  • papita
  • 40 Comments

  Oct 09 05:02 AM
  I am sick and tired of these stories. go find something else to do. in the end, it's all bullshit.

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  • PK de C'ville
  • 98 Comments

  Oct 09 08:16 AM
  Larry,
  
  Any information on the Storm OS and how it compares to iPhone's OS X would be appreciated.
  
  Big Hairy Question: Will the Storm ecosystem be competitive with Apple's iApps store relative to ease of use, reliability, security, low cost apps, total app downloads?
  
  If not, the Storm will be stuck in the domain of a feature rich 'smartphone'. It will not be a platform ala Mac and Windows and, if that's the case, why are you even referring to the Storm "a rival to Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 3G"?

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  • Hayweed
  • 134 Comments

  Oct 09 08:31 AM
  Agreed that this is a big event for Rimm. Problem is that Rimmj's attempt at marketing by leaking spy shots etc is hurting them more than it helps. The fact that the Bold has not been released and now the Storm is coming but is not available is causing new phone buyers of Rimm's products to delay purchases. That means inventory of current phones is stuck which is why the Current Pearl and Curves are being sold for next to nothing. It also allows more people to defect to the iPhone since it is available now.
  
  Apple does not leak products since it stops current sales. That is why they attempt to hide products until they are released.
  
  Also the fact that Verizon is advertising a phone that is not available is clearly an act of desperation. NPD states that 30% of iPhone purchasers switched carriers and that 1/2 of those came from Verizon. If Apple sold 6 million iPhones then Verizon lost close to a million customers. While unconfirmed, the ad the other night for the Storm by Verizon was meant to try to hold their customer base in place. It smacked of please don't buy an iPhone we have a new phone coming soon.
  
  It think it is too late for Rimm. While the phone may initially sell well to the Crackberry crowd, the problems the Storm will have is the following:
  
  1. Browser will not be as good as the iPhone.
  2. The app store by Apple is way ahead of Rimm and when Rimm launches a store, will they have enough apps.
  3. Rimm lags in music and media. The new claim is we can sync your itunes collection as long as the songs are drm free.
  4. This is generation one and operating system one as opposed to iPhone 2.0 and operating system 2.1 with 2.2 to be released shortly.
  5. Does Rimm have the manpower to constantly upgrade the phone. When apple had the 3g dropped call issue, it was fixed pretty quickly. Since Rimm is having such a hard time getting the Bold released, you have to question their ability to deal with software issues.
  6. Rimm's operating system prior to 4.7 was like dos. It was clunky and archaic. People that know how to use it love it. Everyone else could care less because intuitive software is what people want. Rimm with the storm and bold is caught with trying to make a better user phone while not turning off the current customer base. That is a tough trick.
  7. No wifi is a joke. I have the original iphone but since it has wifi which I have at home, work, most people's houses, starbucks, tons of restaurants and bars, I can use it without constantly using the AT&T data. Verizon wants all the traffifc on their network which seems odd. If the Storm sold 7 million units in 3 months like the iPhone did, do you think Verizon could handle all the traffic. At lease some of the iPhone traffic is moving thru wifi.
  
  But Rimm fans and fanboy sites will go crazy in the next month, the real question is will the phone draw much in sales when released. That is where I am skeptical.
  

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  • brewer
  • 418 Comments

  Oct 09 08:46 AM
  I haven't used one yet, but it sure looks clunky next to an iPhone. And aren't they the same price? I think Cramer is going to have to pick a replacement for RIM.

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  • Network Effect
  • 61 Comments

  Oct 09 09:26 AM
  couldn't agree with your final statement. this is make or break for rimm. if they can't show traction on these new product lines, RIMM will need to be bought to survive. my guess is that iPhone is going to lay waste to any competition like the iPod - it's the ecosystem that is the moat around the iPhone, like iTunes around the iPod. but like with iTunes, it is going to be very difficult for anyone to gain any traction because the iPhone and the AppStore already exist and have a huge head start. RIMM will be bought by MSFT, GOOG or HP within 6-18 months. and even then, the combination of the two wont be able to compete with Apple. this game is over already. Apple has just won a very, very big revenue stream of the future. next industry to go down ... video games. maybe this Xmas. again, the ecosystem will prevail. and Nintendo, Sony et al will be playing catch up to an rapidly growing ecosystem like with iTunes and AppStore.

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  • Jon T
  • 330 Comments

  Oct 09 09:26 AM
  THE problem for RIM are the 200 or so patents that protect the iPhone and it's multi-touch capacitive driven screen and interface...
  
  RIM is going to pay a very very large price indeed for its complacency...
  
  
  

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  • chano
  • 30 Comments

  Oct 09 10:30 AM
  I tend to agree with many of the prior posts. Apple doesn't just have a moat, it has a multi-level moat with OS X at its core. The components of the iPhone ecosystem each represent an additional moat since each one (iTunes as largest song etc vendor, Apps Store ditto etc) is a significant moat in its own right. Even if RIMM, MSFT, GOOG etc try to build competing ecosystems, they all lack the glue that ties all these things together ... viz OS X. Many have tried to copy parts of the ecosystem (iPod, iTunes etc) and failed despite huge financial and marketing resources. I cannot see how AAPL can be pushed aside in computing or in cell phones.

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  • Jax3
  • 11 Comments

  Oct 09 01:55 PM
  All very interesting. the discussion can be boiled down tho. To this: The game will be won by comparisons of the user experience. People compare. Unless there are huge price differences the word of mouth ultimately determines the winner. this will emerge after a new phone has been in play for at least 6 months. To those who know it may be apparent in first 90 days.

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  • wallyrahjr
  • 1 Comment

  Oct 09 02:37 PM
  Microsoft has the cash, it needs to rescue Windows Mobile with a ubiquitous corporate-ready device, it can live without the consumer ecosystem as it will be satisfied with the corporate-ready opportunity, and it can circumvent the touch interface with it's own "computing surface" methods -- hopefully RIMM will not be as recalcitrant as Yahoo!

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  • kris23
  • 90 Comments
  • My Website

  Oct 09 03:21 PM
  I agree this is a huge event for RIMM that will help position it a little better against Apple. The Storm may not be able to compete directly with the iPhone, but it has at least given RIMM a new innovative phone that is able to keep up with the latest wave of smartphones.

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  • Hayweed
  • 134 Comments

  Oct 09 05:12 PM
  Problem Rimm has and will have is that they and everyone else is going to compare it to the iPhone. That is where it has to be better or it is an also ran. Right now we know it is bigger, heavier, seems to have some lag issues, and the broswer has been said to be slow. Rimm claims they will have an app store but the Apple app store is now a big deal. I can't see this thing getting much traction. The lack of wifi which you know is Verizon's demand limits the phone. I did love hearing that Rimm's CEO said wifi made the battery life poor. Guess they do not have the tech prowess to put it all together.

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  • .crazylegs..
  • 125 Comments

  Oct 14 04:53 PM
  The apple fans out in full bore as usual. This article is flat out WRONG. The game isn't Bold, Storm vs iPhone. At the high end RIm will get theirs and Apple will get theirs as well. More importantly, the new game is against samsung, moto, lg and switching the flip phone or no feature candy bar style phones to smartphones that get email, surf the web, calendar, contacts, etc. This is a land grab for adoption and Blackberry will soon have the best line-up to hit all consumers and business users at all price points. There is huge demand elasticity for data services and RIM is the only company that can offer a cheap $10/mo email plan to get new users, who normally would balk at paying an extra $30/mo for unlimited data, to buy an extra data service. Apple can't do this with iPhone because users demand huge amounts of bandwidth. So carriers get a data upsell where they didn't have it before. This equals huge value in RIM's handsets. The carriers are trying to figure out how to upsell more services to the existing base as penetration increases and new customers are harder to come by. RIM will benefit

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  • southbeach
  • 23 Comments

  Oct 21 05:05 AM
  RIMM makes good products. The problem is there's a pretty significant recession that started recently. This will accelerate the loss of business and finance jobs, and hit RIMM's core audience. Also, the consumer will be spending less and playing it carefully for a couple of years. Look for RIMM stock to flirt with the low 40's some time in the next 3-6 months as the reality of the recession hits investors. Is RIMM a good buy in the low 40s? Hmm, that's a tough one. If they can successfully build the consumer segments they're targeting, then I'd say probably. Same issue with Apple - likely their stock will move to the 80s. With patience in mind, I'd take out pretty significant long positions in both companies once the price points hit low 40s and low 80s respectively. The silly prices of the last year were driven by amateur have a go investors and dreamers believing their own baseless stories and outlooks. This painful recession has at least cured some of these people of their RIMM and Apple at 200 easy money visions.

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