.... but its revenue actually dropped very slightly compared to spring 2008, at $3.42 billion. Part of this stems from a lower gross margin -- it built in 43.6 percent of headroom on prices versus 50.7 percent last year -- but is also blamed on a stronger Canadian dollar.
(i) The point about gross margins and "headroom" makes absolutely no sense, so perhaps you could explain?
(ii) During the months Feb/Mar/Apr (RIMM's quarter), Can$ appreciated from about Can$1.25/US$ to Can$1.20/US$, or all of 5 Can¢. There is no way that such a small change had a significant impact on their reported earnings. I find it odd that they 'blaming' a stronger Can$.
(i) The point about gross margins and "headroom" makes absolutely no sense, so perhaps you could explain?
(ii) During the months Feb/Mar/Apr (RIMM's quarter), Can$ appreciated from about Can$1.25/US$ to Can$1.20/US$, or all of 5 Can¢. There is no way that such a small change had a significant impact on their reported earnings. I find it odd that they 'blaming' a stronger Can$.
Sorry to reply to my own post. My Point #2 is not valid. I just re-checked, and RIMM's 1Q'10 was Mar/Apr/May. During those three months the Can$ appreciated from about Can$1.28/US$ to Can$1.08/US$, or 20 Can¢.
I have a friend with a Blackberry. He likes the iPhone but just can't get used to a touchscreen keyboard. To each his own.
I guess both apple and rim will be around for a long time
Well he can't get used to it if it's not his primary phone. You can't just use it twice and automatically be accustomed to it.
The only people I ever hear bash the virtual keyboard have never even tried it. Once you use it for a week or two, you forget all about it.
I just don't like the Blackberry's interface. It feels very sloppy and... old. Just like how they took their same old UI for the Storm but just slapped on some touch ability. It's not polished and touch is not native to it.
This enormous fact is why the iPhone is not as strong with business and why I will not be renewing my contract. Too many dropped important biz calls. I am now waiting for the BB Tour to be released on Verizon. Nothing in the new update to get me excited anyway. A compass! WTF. Nothing more than the high tech version of what I could pull from the gum ball machines in the 80's. It has no functional bearing in the real world (unless you travel often and just have to use Google Maps instead of your brain). Oh well. I am exited though about snow leopard and the potential for an OLED iPod Touch.
i'm sure it's been mentioned much in prior comments (too many to read all), but for heavins sake, Aidan, you failed to mention RIM is GIVING BLACKBERERRIES AWAY FOR FREE! don't you think that is a relevant fact in reporting how many units they have "shipped"?? like, seriously, duh! get your reporting act together or change professions.
the 'buy one (Storm) get one free (any other blackberry!) has been running for several months now. i saw it on TV last night. don't you think that is, uh, relevant?
give stuff away for free, yeah, you will ship a lot of units. but it's a huge de facto price cut for the Storm, which otherwise would be a real flop. that's the news you should be exploring further.
i'm sure it's been mentioned much in prior comments (too many to read all), but for heavins sake, Aidan, you failed to mention RIM is GIVING BLACKBERERRIES AWAY FOR FREE! don't you think that is a relevant fact in reporting how many units they have "shipped"?? like, seriously, duh! get your reporting act together or change professions.
[?]
The BOGO offer does require an activation and contract so the RiM is probably still getting paid for the carrier. It?s possible that the RiM is eating the entire cost, but I doubt it.
While I wish it was mentioned for thoroughness when it comes down to marketshare or unit sales that does matter, which is why those that sell cheaper products often hold only to marketshare and not to profit. RiM is still doing well on both fronts.
This enormous fact is why the iPhone is not as strong with business and why I will not be renewing my contract. Too many dropped important biz calls. I am now waiting for the BB Tour to be released on Verizon.
So, "business" uses Verizon exclusively? No businesses have contracts with AT&T?
Quote:
Nothing in the new update to get me excited anyway. A compass! WTF. Nothing more than the high tech version of what I could pull from the gum ball machines in the 80's. It has no functional bearing in the real world (unless you travel often and just have to use Google Maps instead of your brain). Oh well. I am exited though about snow leopard and the potential for an OLED iPod Touch.
The compass, as a location service, in tandem with maps and the camera, yield some possibilities that your gumball prize never dreamed of.
I've been using my iphone with the company exchange system for quite some time even though it's not officially supported. Once OS 2.0 came out, it was trivially easy to connect and works very well. With OS 3.0 it works amazingly well. It does everything and more than my Blackberry using friends can. (I really love the way it handles calendar invitations now.) And unlike each Blackberry user it costs the company absolutely nothing. It's my phone and I pay for it, access to the company Exchange is just like any other user working remotely from a home computer and doesn't need RIM's servers.
The only reason other users hold onto their Blackberries is because the company pays for them and they are too cheap to pass up a free phone even though they shouldn't use company assets for personal use. If iPhone was a company paid option, most would take it. Frankly, given how well it works as a business tool and how cheap it is to support, all these corporate IT folks still pushing RIM and not offering iPhone have got rocks in their heads.
And no more whining about replaceable batteries or physical keyboards. I've never once seen a Blackberry user change a battery, but I see them plug in chargers all the time. When I need to really pound out a lot of work on my iphone all day long, I do the same or just plug in the external battery. I don't see how having a replaceable battery would change how I use the phone to the slightest degree.
A physical keyboard on the other hand would be an absolute calamity. I can see no advantage to my Blackberry using friends from their chiclet keys. I can type just as easily and quickly, if not even faster. But I have the huge advantages of switching between portrait and landscape, easy access to all special characters and foreign alphabets, and a smaller & lighter phone with a bigger screen. Most important though, it is completely SILENT. I spend a ton of time in meetings full of Blackberry users clattering away on their stupid chiclet keyboards and that constant 'click-click-click-click...' drone gets rather annoying. If it was up to me, all smart phones with physical keyboards would be banned from the work place for that reason. Using one in a meeting is just plane rude to those around you. They make as much sense as continuing to use a command line interface in the GUI age.
I bought my first gen iphone purely for personal use, but it has become such an incredible business tool that I can't imagine how I got by at work without it. The 3.0 upgrade has been amazing after just one day, can't wait to see what upgrading to the 3GS will be like.
The BOGO offer does require an activation and contract so the RiM is probably still getting paid for the carrier. It?s possible that the RiM is eating the entire cost, but I doubt it.
While I wish it was mentioned for thoroughness when it comes down to marketshare or unit sales that does matter, which is why those that sell cheaper products often hold only to marketshare and not to profit. RiM is still doing well on both fronts.
yes, RIM does get the service contract and some telco might get a new account (tho i bet most are just replacing other dumber cellphones on a family plan). so they do get some additional revenue from the give-away units.
but still, it is very possible half a million of those 7.8 million units "shipped" are in fact the freebies. so that stat is significantly inflated. or, to look at it another way, the Storm price has really been discounted by at least 50%. neither is good news for RIM.
to be fair, Apple is giving a Touch away with a Mac computer sale to a student under its back to school promotion too. but that is a traditional end of model year sale, and the Mac computer price is $1,000+. whereas RIM had to start discounting the Storm after less than 6 months.
face it, the Storm is a flop that RIM is propping up with the giveaway program. Aidan missed it.
Bumped into a gal on a JFK to LHR; I was curious so she let me play with her Storm--except for the clicking/haptics, it's a poor iPhone wannabe. She said she hates it--her first one broke in 2 days; Verizon only replaced it after she threatened legal action. Her second Storm was equally "clunky" but by the time she got back to the store, she was past the 30-day limit for replacement and was told that Sorry Charlie, she'd have to live with it--for the duration of the remaining 23 months of her contract . How many non-iPhone smart phone users are waiting til their contracts run out before they defect to the iPhone?
face it, the Storm is a flop that RIM is propping up with the giveaway program. Aidan missed it.
That maybe true, but RIM didn't get hit much in the profit margin department (their profit margin would have to go down anyway as they sell more general consumers because their enterprise customers have higher profit margins).
And certainly Verizon Wireless didn't get hit in the profit margin department at all --- they actually raised their profit margin forecast.
It just so happens that AT&T loosened up their iphone upgrade policy --- 24 hours after RIM announced the Blackberry Tour for VZW and Sprint for the summer launch (precisely the same July/August/Sept that the new AT&T upgrade policy is targeted).
Double exactly. Only the iBoys think of a universe where only Apple reigns supreme. There is enough market for everyone. RIM, Nokia, Apple, Samsung. Not everyone in the world wants an iPhone, and to think so is well stupid. All the major guys will have great phones with great big shortcomings. There is not one size fits all phone. Some, such as me, will simply pick the best two and purchase them. As I have to have two phones. One for work, and personal, I am lucky that I can have my company subsidize my work phone while I purchase my personal phone. Either way, it is a win, win for customers.
This enormous fact is why the iPhone is not as strong with business and why I will not be renewing my contract. Too many dropped important biz calls. I am now waiting for the BB Tour to be released on Verizon. Nothing in the new update to get me excited anyway. A compass! WTF. Nothing more than the high tech version of what I could pull from the gum ball machines in the 80's. It has no functional bearing in the real world (unless you travel often and just have to use Google Maps instead of your brain). Oh well. I am exited though about snow leopard and the potential for an OLED iPod Touch.
This only proves obvious fact Apple's guys didn't even care to market deservedly numerous iPhone 3G[S] virtues. Actually, 3G[S] promises much better radio, than its predecessor has, more sensitive, dropping less calls. But customer is supposed to be a geek and to shovel tons of boring numbers to see it.
So, "business" uses Verizon exclusively? No businesses have contracts with AT&T?
The compass, as a location service, in tandem with maps and the camera, yield some possibilities that your gumball prize never dreamed of.
But SE, Nokia, and a few others that had dreamed of it long before Apple did. The guy is correct. These features are nothing new except to the iPhone. Other phones have had these capabilities for years.
The BOGO offer does require an activation and contract so the RiM is probably still getting paid for the carrier. It’s possible that the RiM is eating the entire cost, but I doubt it.
While I wish it was mentioned for thoroughness when it comes down to marketshare or unit sales that does matter, which is why those that sell cheaper products often hold only to marketshare and not to profit. RiM is still doing well on both fronts.
This only proves obvious fact Apple's guys didn't even care to market deservedly numerous iPhone 3G[S] virtues. Actually, 3G[S] promises much better radio, than its predecessor has, more sensitive, dropping less calls. But customer is supposed to be a geek and to shovel tons of boring numbers to see it.
Agreed. Apple always was shy about promoting itself. Too cool for its own good. This apple 3gs seems like a great phone. And AT&T continues to build its towers and repeaters and such .So the coverage should improve. I am from nyc so i will wait for verizon.
Comments
.... but its revenue actually dropped very slightly compared to spring 2008, at $3.42 billion. Part of this stems from a lower gross margin -- it built in 43.6 percent of headroom on prices versus 50.7 percent last year -- but is also blamed on a stronger Canadian dollar.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
Re. the bolded portion above:
(i) The point about gross margins and "headroom" makes absolutely no sense, so perhaps you could explain?
(ii) During the months Feb/Mar/Apr (RIMM's quarter), Can$ appreciated from about Can$1.25/US$ to Can$1.20/US$, or all of 5 Can¢. There is no way that such a small change had a significant impact on their reported earnings. I find it odd that they 'blaming' a stronger Can$.
Re. the bolded portion above:
(i) The point about gross margins and "headroom" makes absolutely no sense, so perhaps you could explain?
(ii) During the months Feb/Mar/Apr (RIMM's quarter), Can$ appreciated from about Can$1.25/US$ to Can$1.20/US$, or all of 5 Can¢. There is no way that such a small change had a significant impact on their reported earnings. I find it odd that they 'blaming' a stronger Can$.
Sorry to reply to my own post. My Point #2 is not valid. I just re-checked, and RIMM's 1Q'10 was Mar/Apr/May. During those three months the Can$ appreciated from about Can$1.28/US$ to Can$1.08/US$, or 20 Can¢.
That is, indeed, significant.
Point #1 remains valid, though.
I have a friend with a Blackberry. He likes the iPhone but just can't get used to a touchscreen keyboard. To each his own.
I guess both apple and rim will be around for a long time
Well he can't get used to it if it's not his primary phone. You can't just use it twice and automatically be accustomed to it.
The only people I ever hear bash the virtual keyboard have never even tried it. Once you use it for a week or two, you forget all about it.
I just don't like the Blackberry's interface. It feels very sloppy and... old. Just like how they took their same old UI for the Storm but just slapped on some touch ability. It's not polished and touch is not native to it.
I thought it was all about the call connection.
This enormous fact is why the iPhone is not as strong with business and why I will not be renewing my contract. Too many dropped important biz calls. I am now waiting for the BB Tour to be released on Verizon. Nothing in the new update to get me excited anyway. A compass! WTF. Nothing more than the high tech version of what I could pull from the gum ball machines in the 80's. It has no functional bearing in the real world (unless you travel often and just have to use Google Maps instead of your brain). Oh well. I am exited though about snow leopard and the potential for an OLED iPod Touch.
the 'buy one (Storm) get one free (any other blackberry!) has been running for several months now. i saw it on TV last night. don't you think that is, uh, relevant?
give stuff away for free, yeah, you will ship a lot of units. but it's a huge de facto price cut for the Storm, which otherwise would be a real flop. that's the news you should be exploring further.
i'm sure it's been mentioned much in prior comments (too many to read all), but for heavins sake, Aidan, you failed to mention RIM is GIVING BLACKBERERRIES AWAY FOR FREE! don't you think that is a relevant fact in reporting how many units they have "shipped"?? like, seriously, duh! get your reporting act together or change professions.
[?]
The BOGO offer does require an activation and contract so the RiM is probably still getting paid for the carrier. It?s possible that the RiM is eating the entire cost, but I doubt it.
While I wish it was mentioned for thoroughness when it comes down to marketshare or unit sales that does matter, which is why those that sell cheaper products often hold only to marketshare and not to profit. RiM is still doing well on both fronts.
i don't know about you but I know way more guys with iPhones than women.
Same here - most of the guys I know prefer iPhones to women.
This enormous fact is why the iPhone is not as strong with business and why I will not be renewing my contract. Too many dropped important biz calls. I am now waiting for the BB Tour to be released on Verizon.
So, "business" uses Verizon exclusively? No businesses have contracts with AT&T?
Nothing in the new update to get me excited anyway. A compass! WTF. Nothing more than the high tech version of what I could pull from the gum ball machines in the 80's. It has no functional bearing in the real world (unless you travel often and just have to use Google Maps instead of your brain). Oh well. I am exited though about snow leopard and the potential for an OLED iPod Touch.
The compass, as a location service, in tandem with maps and the camera, yield some possibilities that your gumball prize never dreamed of.
The only reason other users hold onto their Blackberries is because the company pays for them and they are too cheap to pass up a free phone even though they shouldn't use company assets for personal use. If iPhone was a company paid option, most would take it. Frankly, given how well it works as a business tool and how cheap it is to support, all these corporate IT folks still pushing RIM and not offering iPhone have got rocks in their heads.
And no more whining about replaceable batteries or physical keyboards. I've never once seen a Blackberry user change a battery, but I see them plug in chargers all the time. When I need to really pound out a lot of work on my iphone all day long, I do the same or just plug in the external battery. I don't see how having a replaceable battery would change how I use the phone to the slightest degree.
A physical keyboard on the other hand would be an absolute calamity. I can see no advantage to my Blackberry using friends from their chiclet keys. I can type just as easily and quickly, if not even faster. But I have the huge advantages of switching between portrait and landscape, easy access to all special characters and foreign alphabets, and a smaller & lighter phone with a bigger screen. Most important though, it is completely SILENT. I spend a ton of time in meetings full of Blackberry users clattering away on their stupid chiclet keyboards and that constant 'click-click-click-click...' drone gets rather annoying. If it was up to me, all smart phones with physical keyboards would be banned from the work place for that reason. Using one in a meeting is just plane rude to those around you. They make as much sense as continuing to use a command line interface in the GUI age.
I bought my first gen iphone purely for personal use, but it has become such an incredible business tool that I can't imagine how I got by at work without it. The 3.0 upgrade has been amazing after just one day, can't wait to see what upgrading to the 3GS will be like.
The BOGO offer does require an activation and contract so the RiM is probably still getting paid for the carrier. It?s possible that the RiM is eating the entire cost, but I doubt it.
While I wish it was mentioned for thoroughness when it comes down to marketshare or unit sales that does matter, which is why those that sell cheaper products often hold only to marketshare and not to profit. RiM is still doing well on both fronts.
yes, RIM does get the service contract and some telco might get a new account (tho i bet most are just replacing other dumber cellphones on a family plan). so they do get some additional revenue from the give-away units.
but still, it is very possible half a million of those 7.8 million units "shipped" are in fact the freebies. so that stat is significantly inflated. or, to look at it another way, the Storm price has really been discounted by at least 50%. neither is good news for RIM.
to be fair, Apple is giving a Touch away with a Mac computer sale to a student under its back to school promotion too. but that is a traditional end of model year sale, and the Mac computer price is $1,000+. whereas RIM had to start discounting the Storm after less than 6 months.
face it, the Storm is a flop that RIM is propping up with the giveaway program. Aidan missed it.
face it, the Storm is a flop that RIM is propping up with the giveaway program. Aidan missed it.
That maybe true, but RIM didn't get hit much in the profit margin department (their profit margin would have to go down anyway as they sell more general consumers because their enterprise customers have higher profit margins).
And certainly Verizon Wireless didn't get hit in the profit margin department at all --- they actually raised their profit margin forecast.
It just so happens that AT&T loosened up their iphone upgrade policy --- 24 hours after RIM announced the Blackberry Tour for VZW and Sprint for the summer launch (precisely the same July/August/Sept that the new AT&T upgrade policy is targeted).
Sigh......
I remember when this was an apple computer site.
Those were the days......
And I remember when the company was called "Apple Computer, Inc."
Now it is called "Apple, Inc."
And the site is called "APPLEInsider", not "AppleComputersOnlyInsider".
So, they report what's happening with Apple and sometimes with its competitors.
Skip the iPhone/iPod stuff if you want to. It's all good.
Some of us want to know all there is about Apple and its products/competition/r&d/rumours/dispelled rumours/stock price/etc.
Apple, Inc.
Greg :-)
Same here - most of the guys I know prefer iPhones to women.
ROFLMAO!!!!
You gotta love the English language!
........... still laughing!!!
Thanks!
Exactly.
Double exactly. Only the iBoys think of a universe where only Apple reigns supreme. There is enough market for everyone. RIM, Nokia, Apple, Samsung. Not everyone in the world wants an iPhone, and to think so is well stupid. All the major guys will have great phones with great big shortcomings. There is not one size fits all phone. Some, such as me, will simply pick the best two and purchase them. As I have to have two phones. One for work, and personal, I am lucky that I can have my company subsidize my work phone while I purchase my personal phone. Either way, it is a win, win for customers.
This enormous fact is why the iPhone is not as strong with business and why I will not be renewing my contract. Too many dropped important biz calls. I am now waiting for the BB Tour to be released on Verizon. Nothing in the new update to get me excited anyway. A compass! WTF. Nothing more than the high tech version of what I could pull from the gum ball machines in the 80's. It has no functional bearing in the real world (unless you travel often and just have to use Google Maps instead of your brain). Oh well. I am exited though about snow leopard and the potential for an OLED iPod Touch.
This only proves obvious fact Apple's guys didn't even care to market deservedly numerous iPhone 3G[S] virtues. Actually, 3G[S] promises much better radio, than its predecessor has, more sensitive, dropping less calls. But customer is supposed to be a geek and to shovel tons of boring numbers to see it.
So, "business" uses Verizon exclusively? No businesses have contracts with AT&T?
The compass, as a location service, in tandem with maps and the camera, yield some possibilities that your gumball prize never dreamed of.
But SE, Nokia, and a few others that had dreamed of it long before Apple did. The guy is correct. These features are nothing new except to the iPhone. Other phones have had these capabilities for years.
The BOGO offer does require an activation and contract so the RiM is probably still getting paid for the carrier. It’s possible that the RiM is eating the entire cost, but I doubt it.
While I wish it was mentioned for thoroughness when it comes down to marketshare or unit sales that does matter, which is why those that sell cheaper products often hold only to marketshare and not to profit. RiM is still doing well on both fronts.
Yes but did RIM also discount.
9
This only proves obvious fact Apple's guys didn't even care to market deservedly numerous iPhone 3G[S] virtues. Actually, 3G[S] promises much better radio, than its predecessor has, more sensitive, dropping less calls. But customer is supposed to be a geek and to shovel tons of boring numbers to see it.
Agreed. Apple always was shy about promoting itself. Too cool for its own good. This apple 3gs seems like a great phone. And AT&T continues to build its towers and repeaters and such .So the coverage should improve. I am from nyc so i will wait for verizon.
So, "business" uses Verizon exclusively? No businesses have contracts with AT&T?
Many do- with Blackberries.
The compass, as a location service, in tandem with maps and the camera, yield some possibilities that your gumball prize never dreamed of.
Right- just what every corporation on the World has been craving, yaddabox.