RIM looks to BB10, software licensing for survival

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Research in Motion CEO Thorstein Heins said in a Thursday earnings conference call that the company is working hard to overcome the challenges faced by the rapidly expanding smartphone market and is looking to the upcoming BB10 platform and licensing deals for BlackBerry Messenger to survive.

After posting its first operating loss since 2004 on poor device sales and waning market interest, Research in Motion is looking to the BlackBerry 10 OS and companion smartphone to open a new chapter in the company's history, reports The Wall Street Journal.

"I?m not satisfied," Heins said of the company's bleak first fiscal quarter of 2013. "I want to show you we?re not standing still"

He went on to say that the once-lucrative overseas market has dried up for BlackBerry devices as Android and iOS gobble up worldwide marketshare.

As for the anticipated mini PlayBook" and notes that the delays are "not due to quality" issues. He also said that carriers may actually prefer a 2013 launch as networks will be faster and more robust. BB10 has been pushed back for over a year and some analysts believe that when the mobile OS launches it will be too little, too late.

Heins said the once-powerful Canadian company will pare down its handset offering and focus on the QNX-based BlackBerry 10 in a last-ditch attempt to compete with the two prevailing smartphone operating systems, Apple's iOS and Google's Android. RIM CFO Brian Bidulka reiterated a push toward a limited model offering, alluding that a structure more in line with Apple's one handset per year strategy may be more beneficial than a deluge of devices.

Despite moving to a more Apple-based hardware business model, RIM is looking to keep the software side of BB10 much like Android and Heins said that the platform is "fully open." He qualifies the statement by saying, "we are not trying to be one of many, we?re trying to be different.?

Thorsten Heins
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins. | Source: Business Week


While software licensing wasn't fully detailed, Heins mentioned that the company was aggressively pursuing possible deals for BlackBerry Messenger among other security-centric assets. When asked about the current state of RIM's patent holdings, the executive refused to comment but claimed the company was in "a good position." It was rumored in April that a financial advisor had been brought on to examine the company's patent licensing options, but there has yet to be any official news regarding the subject.

While plans to plug the holes in RIM's ship are already in action, the situation will likely become worse before it gets better as the company warned of more losses next quarter. Some are concerned that the the BlackBerry maker may not be able to hold on long enough to see the proposed changes bear fruit, but it appears the company has no intention of yielding to rumored takeover bids and will weather the storm alone.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    47,888
  • Reply 2 of 25


    Bye bye Blackberry.  That's what I think this means - RIM just doesn't have the wherewithal to survive and compete.

     

  • Reply 3 of 25
    negafoxnegafox Posts: 480member
    Maybe with the delay RIM will finally have time to develop BB 8 and 9. Or they could just call it "BlackBerry OS X".
  • Reply 4 of 25
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    The problem with licensing is that you have to find someone willing to license your software.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    Their wisest move would just be to shut down all operations effective immediately and begin producing maple syrup or something.

  • Reply 6 of 25
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Their wisest move would just be to shut down all operations effective immediately and begin producing maple syrup or something.



     


    You can't produce Maple Syrup.  You can just bottle it and sell it.  

  • Reply 7 of 25
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    You can't produce Maple Syrup.  You can just bottle it and sell it.  



     


    Not that I know anything at all about Maple Syrup, but wouldn't the whole process of collecting the syrup and then bottling it in factories and then shipping it out for retail be called producing?

  • Reply 8 of 25
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    You can't produce Maple Syrup.  You can just bottle it and sell it.  



     


    You forced me do a quick Google search for maple syrup, and if you do one yourself, you'll find out that there are many maple syrup producers out there, and there are even maple syrup producer associations and organizations.

  • Reply 9 of 25
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


     


    Not that I know anything at all about Maple Syrup, but wouldn't the whole process of collecting the syrup and then bottling it in factories and then shipping it out for retail be called producing?



     


    Tapping trees. Collecting the extracted syrup. Boiling it down according to the requirements for different grades, filter it, and *then* bottle it, etc. 


     


    My stepdad used to run a little Maple Syrup operation at his cottage in Northern Ontario. I helped from time to time. It's hard work. 

  • Reply 10 of 25


    LOL, maple syrup has proven to be more interesting than RIM, news at 11

  • Reply 11 of 25
    drfreemandrfreeman Posts: 111member


    Last time someone mentioned "fully open" it was the open sourcing of WebOS...................... story continues ...................

  • Reply 12 of 25
    timmydaxtimmydax Posts: 284member
    LOL, maple syrup has proven to be more interesting than RIM, news at 11


    Ingredients

    1 2/3 cup blackberries
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1 tsp flour
    1 Tbsp water


    Gently break up the Blackberries with a wire masher, leaving them chunky so that there is a mix of whole berries, partly broken berries and crushed berries.
    Dissolve the flour in the water in a small saucepan.  Stir in the maple syrup.  Then add the crushed Blackberries.  Bring the mixture to a gentle bubbling simmer and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to let it boil vigorously.

    Serve the chunky Blackberry syrup warm with pancakes, waffles or french toast.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    That's also how Palm went quietly into oblivion... We'll license webOS. Any takers?
  • Reply 14 of 25
    see flatsee flat Posts: 145member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    You can't produce Maple Syrup.  You can just bottle it and sell it.  



    you obviously know nothing about it. That's like saying you can't produce beef, you just put a cow in your basket and send you off to the cashier.

  • Reply 15 of 25
    joelsaltjoelsalt Posts: 827member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


     


    Tapping trees. Collecting the extracted syrup. Boiling it down according to the requirements for different grades, filter it, and *then* bottle it, etc. 


     


    My stepdad used to run a little Maple Syrup operation at his cottage in Northern Ontario. I helped from time to time. It's hard work. 



    That's awesome.


     


    I love tir!

  • Reply 16 of 25
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,631member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mac Voyer View Post



    The problem with licensing is that you have to find someone willing to license your software.


    Exactly.  The consumers DON'T want their product.  Why would anyone want to license it?


     


    Does Blackberry really offer anything we can't get from Apple for Android (except business security).

  • Reply 17 of 25

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Their wisest move would just be to shut down all operations effective immediately and begin producing maple syrup or something.



     


    BREAKFAST HOUR IS OVER. image


     


    Amateur Hour is Over

  • Reply 18 of 25
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    BREAKFAST HOUR IS OVER. :lol:

    478
  • Reply 19 of 25
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member
    <vc><strong>
    "I'm not satisfied," Heins said of the company's bleak first fiscal quarter of 2013. " I want to show you we're not standing still"

    300
  • Reply 20 of 25
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    markbyrn wrote: »
    300

    I think RIM is more "Lonesome George" at this point.

    On that note, RIP, Lonesome George, the last of his subspecies, now extinct.
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