RIM

New book tells the story of how the iPhone crippled BlackBerry

Cody Lee ∙ May 23, 2015

There is a new book coming out later this month entitled "Losing the Signal," and it explores the rise and fall of BlackBerry. The Canadian-based handset maker that once sat atop the smartphone market has spent the last two years fighting off bankruptcy.

On Friday The Wall Street Journal published an interesting excerpt from the book, which tells the story of the iPhone's debut in 2007 and how it impacted folks inside BlackBerry. It's clear that they had no idea it was coming, or what they could do to respond.

Chart: how US mobile landscape changed in 7 years

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 21, 2013

Research firm comScore today released a comprehensive report on mobile landscape in the United States and elsewhere and one particular chart stands out as another example of how the smartphone market is a duopoly between iOS and Android, with Apple and Samsung increasingly taking industry's profits at the expense of - well, pretty much every other handset maker out there.

Spanning 2005-2012, the chart paints an accurate picture of platform dynamics when it comes to the competitive market for connected mobile devices...

The exodus continues: Home Depot drops BlackBerry for iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ February 9, 2013

It hasn't even been a week since we reported that Australia's Treasury Department would be trading in their BlackBerry devices for iPhones, and there's already a new story on the Canadian handset-maker losing another major enterprise customer.

The word is that Home Depot, a home improvement retail chain and the 5th largest retailer in the world, is also looking to drop their BlackBerrys in favor of Apple's popular smartphone. And the account is a big one, worth over 10,000 handsets...

RIM rebrands, announces the first two BB10 devices

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

RIM's long-awaited BlackBerry 10 event just finished up, and the company had quite a lot to talk about. On top of announcing that it's rebranded itself to BlackBerry (no more Research in Motion), it unveiled its first two BB10 handsets.

I won't get into the dramatics here. Everyone knows what's on the line for the struggling smartphone-maker. And it has essentially bet its entire future on this new mobile OS and these new devices. So without further ado, let's take a look...

The iPhone is now one-fourth of the world’s smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Lost in all of the talk of Apple's declining profits was that the iPhone now accounts for a quarter of all smartphones shipped globally in 2012.

Although Samsung's triple-digit yearly growth-rate blinded many observers, Apple last year did eek out 47 percent growth.

It was enough to make Apple the only smartphone maker beside the South Korean firm to show any growth at all in 2012. Apple shipped 136.8 million iPhones in 2012, up from 93.1 million units in 2011, according to technology researcher IDC. Wednesday, Apple announced it shipped 47.8 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of last year...

Comparison video: BlackBerry Z10 vs iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ Updated July 17, 2017

After what seems like years of waiting, we are now just 9 days away from RIM's BlackBerry 10 launch event. Here, the Canadian company is expected to show off its 'finished' next-generation operating system, as well as its new devices that will be running it.

We already know that one of those devices will be the BlackBerry Z10, a high-end handset with a 4.2-inch display, because RIM has already passed out several of them. For those wondering how it will stack up against the iPhone 5, here's a comparison video...

Poll: my next cell phone will be…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

These days, it's all but impossible to escape Apple hate speech. You know who to blame: big media. I mean, stock manipulators played even the credulous Wall Street Journal. It's not just WSJ - or NYT or Reuters, for that matter.

Anti-Apple Forbes hit new lows with clickbait headlines like this one or this one. And as crazypants analysts voice their concern regarding "Apple’s lack of a strategy in the lower-end phone”, they at the same time continue to hallucinate about a happiness or time travel machine from Apple.

And all of them get an assistance from traffic-hungry journalists like Dan Lyons whose write-ups sound bitter and idiotic. But in spite of all that FUD talk, Apple is demolishing Android in every metric that matters. None of this frenzy should matter when considering your next cell phone.

But real life can be a bitch and with so much negative publicity mounting ahead of Apple's earnings report, no wonder some of the faint-hearted fans are beginning to question their faith in the California firm. I know where my heart stands, but I want to know one thing: do you know where your heart stands? So, what's your next phone gonna be?

Another survey says more than half want an iPhone 5 for Christmas

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

After getting off to a shaky start, more than half of consumers shopping for a smartphone plan to buy an iPhone 5, according to a new Wall Street survey. Likewise, Twitter chatter indicates a growing number of Internet users hope to find Apple's new handset under the Christmas tree.

Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster told investors Thursday that 53.3 percent of a group polled Wednesday said they plan to purchase the iPhone 5 over the next month. That number is just slightly below the 54.9 percent found in mid-October, following the new smartphone's launch...

Apple’s tablet lead over Android could be shrinking faster than earlier thought

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 28, 2012

Remember the days when analysts and Wall Street observers believed the iPad would continue to lead tablet sales for years, and Android competitors still needed work? Funny how time flies. Although Apple isn't laughing, there is talk Google could overtake Apple in 2013. The problem is the iPad's lead over a pack of Android alternatives is shrinking to that when the Apple tablet was introduced in 2010.

Also, remember all those non-Android slates from HP and RIM? Yeah, neither does anyone else. That's the other problem...

RIM lost Nokia suit, now faces BlackBerry ban

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

An interesting opportunity has presented itself to Microsoft following news that Canada-based Research In Motion has lost a legal dispute with Nokia over wireless technology patents. As a result, RIM could see BlackBerry handsets banned unless it agrees to pay royalties to Nokia. As things stand, Nokia has already filed cases in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom to enforce the ruling, a move that could see all Blackberry smartphones removed from store shelves.

"In order to enforce the Tribunal's ruling, we have now filed actions in the US, UK and Canada with the aim of ending RIM's breach of contract", Nokia said in a statement. If the courts enforce the sales ban, consequences for the ailing BlackBerry maker could be devastating while opening door to Microsoft's Windows Phone becoming the #3 mobile platform...

IDC: Android and iOS to surpass BlackBerry in enterprise this year

Cody Lee ∙ November 28, 2012

According to a new study by market research firm IDC, the iPhone will combine with Android handsets to overtake BlackBerry's enterprise marketshare for the first time ever this year. This is a major threat to RIM's struggling mobile platform, which has been using its popularity in the enterprise market to stay afloat as its consumer sales have plummeted...

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board drops BlackBerry for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 21, 2012

Last month, the U.S. Immigration and Customer Enforcement agency and government consultant Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. both announced plans to drop BlackBerry smartphones and deploy iPhones and Android devices instead. The Pentagon is also prepping to deploy Apple's and Google's platform.

The Defense Department is conducting search for a contractor that will build a system to manage and secure a fleet of 162,500 iPhones, iPads and Android devices. And now, rubbing salt into the wound, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board confirms it will be making the switch.

In a document posted last week to a federal website, the agency dissed BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, writing its devices have been “failing both at inopportune times and at an unacceptable rate”. Ouch!