RIM letting opportunity from Nokia debacle slip, Citi says

By on Jun 9, 2011 at 11:30 AM
Business June 9, 2011

In a note to investors on Thursday, Citigroup analyst Jim Suva cut his rating on shares of RIM stock from Buy to Hold, dropping his price target from $80 to $45. Suva had upgraded his rating on RIM shares from Sell to Buy back in February on the assumption that the Waterloo, Ontario-based company would take advantage of Nokia’s plummeting market share. “We believe RIMM is letting this opportunity slip,” the analyst said on Thursday. Suva continued, ”Thus far our supply chain checks show that RIMM’s new models have not yet been certified by major wireless carriers and are not in mass production, which concerns us as typically 30-40 days prior to launch new product should be in mass production.” Earlier this month, BGR exclusively reported that RIM’s BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone will not launch until September, despite its unveiling at BlackBerry World this past May.

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  • Mo

    RIM=Fail

    • Zukidrvr

      Ah yes, the same CITI that just gave your identity away.

  • Corymcnutt

    Typical RIM…I almost feel sorry for them; why are they always behind in technology and a year too late in delivering their phones?

    • Tyler

      LACK OF LEADERSHIP & INCOMPETENCE!!!

    • Applesucksfatties

      I will have to say that they (and the carriers) are slow to market… but I disagree with your statement about technology.   No need to run dual core battery hogs when they can get the same thing done with a single core processor.  Funny that iCrap doesn’t even have a native messaging application or a message indicator… yet iFans are saying RIM is behind in technology..   iFart app anyone?

      • numetheus

        What? How does it not have a native messaging application?!??!?! Its email rivals that of my blackberry. I have full folder sync across all of my gmail folders. And it is instant. No need to wait for this goofy reconcile crap that doesn’t really sync things. I get full exchange and all the push instant email I can handle. This goes the same for my Android phone right now. Blackberry has nothing except BBM to make themselves stand out anymore.

  • Anonymous

    So, if they get certified soon, then 30-40 days would be the end of July.  We have seen documentation that the 9900 will release on August 24th on Sprint.  Definitely not believing the September rumor yet.  Your post specifically said “Globally” in september.  RIM always releases phones in the US before they release them globally.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JNKVTT7PJMXPYP2GVCIERBQQCU Andrew

      “RIM always releases phones in the US before they release them globally.”

      This is not always true.  I remember having to by the heavily anticipated Bold 9000 from China unlocked use it on AT&T because they had it like a month and a half before.  And at the time that was going to be their flagship devices.  I mean I hope it’s released here first but there’s more to the world than just the US.  I mean it would be in RIM’s best interest to release in the US first because this is where they are really hurting and try to get it out before iPhone 5.

      • Champ

        That’s because At&T held up the release. The phone was ready to go, but at&t wanted to get it released in the 4th quarter to help finish the year strong

  • Anonymous

    Explain the Voda promo vid for the 9900 please Suva if they don’t have any coming

    • Anonymous

      i think he meant something that matters

  • http://twitter.com/MurkJenkins Mark Jenkins

    Couple extra bucks from Apple for this post, huh? Cha Ching!

  • Anonymous

    Might as well change their name to RIMtanic  cuz they have been doing nothing but sinking for over a year. They will end up being a niche company that caters to their groupies.  Which is a shame because I used to love Blackberry.  They just can’t seem to innovate anymore and are WAY too slow on their roll-outs. They peaked 2 years ago. Now there future is probably in less developed parts of the world.

    • Anonymous

      Less developed parts of the world are the biggest phone markets.

      • Rudy Herfurth

        I agree completely,  Most of the big things in Apple’s ‘awesome’ iOS5 are old features Blackberry users have been using.  In the users eyes, it’s not an iProduct so it is automatically a failure.

      • http://twitter.com/livingbasehead Shelton

        Indeed this is true, however apple doesnt succeed just in the features where the iphone succeeds is in the implementation of the said features. for example if I want to google something on my berry i have to scroll to it, click, scroll to my address bar, type in the junk, scroll to google, press, wait for it to load.. then zoom in, where as Iphone press on safari press in the box type hit enter and un-pinch (not sure on the technical term) and im there. 

      • Anonymous

        Fiscal results.. sure, but they are making that on the global level and mostly from less developed country. They have been tanking marketshare for over a year now in the US and Euro market.  

        3rd party support sucks for RIM and the lack of customization and extreme poor performance for web browser and their cracker sized screens.  They only have 1 touch screen phone at this time and it’s really not that great.  The multimedia support is poor for movie and youtube. Their music app is complete crap and the app store is pitiful (mostly because of poor 3rd party support)

        You obviously are a fanboy and like most.. can’t see the picture.. but this article and 1000′s like them tell a non biased view point.. you don’t like it, just like Nokia people didn’t like it.. but the facts are facts.. and they are having a hard tell selling their “new” phones cuz they are the same for past couple years. Versions os 4-6 are pretty identical with no real achievements.. they always talk about what’s coming.. but by the time they come.. they are behind. 

      • Anonymous

        Considering I’m from Waterloo and have a certain local, regional, and national pride surrounding a company who has managed to become an international force in the virtually impossible to succeed in telecommunication industry, then yes I would consider myself a fanboy.

        And I’m sorry, but you can’t discredit fiscal results – especially when they are the best method of describing the company’s growth and increase in production – not what “analysts” and “reports” from people you’ve never heard of are pulling out of the air and submitting to this “news” site. Nokia and Palm were suffering in this department showing losses for numerous consecutive quarters and this certainly isn’t the case.

        RIM haters seem to believe that whatever their buddies have or what the first unsubstantial report online dictates is what the rest of the world is doing. BlackBerry is a force in numerous countries because of their class-leading business implementation and security – and again – developing countries are turning into the most difficult and substantial wireless markets.

        And on a final note: tell me how one other OS has differed vastly in the past 3 years. Obviously Windows Phone 7 was a huge step forward, but you can’t honestly tell me that Android and iOS have made revolutionary changes. Every OS works with what they have to make a few things better in its next OS. BlackBerry is no worse than its competitors in this field. What you may find boring is efficient and makes for a messaging machine – but if you don’t have that many friends who message you in a day, I can see why it you think BlackBerry is boring.

        BlackBerry’s apps – social interaction with friends and family.

        iOS apps – playing games by yourself.

        Edit: What do you mean unbiased? You’re reading BGR, all they do is spit this crap out day after day. Get a clue.

      • http://twitter.com/homescrub homescrub

        Yeah but, BBOS has been doing things terribly and slow, thus the reason why Apple and Google have surpassed RIM across the board.  What they took as ideas, RIM took for granted, and are now paying the price. 

      • numetheus

        My Blackberry is crap for most of the things i want to do with my smartphone. The browser sucks, the apps suck, the maps application sucks. I use my mobile phone to browse the web a lot. On my Inspire 4g this is a comfortable experience. I want to remain productive with apps. On the BB there are few apps that have have less features than their counterparts on other mobile platforms. And because less people buy them they are more expensive. Look at IM+ pricing on BB. Apps typically look on BB like the same version from a few years back. Battery life is amazing though … and that is the absolute only reason to own a blackberry.

      • Anonymous

        Why the hell did you buy BB (or maybe you didn’t) if you wanted a toy?  BBs are good for certain things but we all know browsing isn’t one of them (…yet).  It’s like you buying a Corolla and complaining it doesn’t go 0-60 in 3 seconds and is boring – but it’s great on fuel.  Me thinks you just want to bash…

      • numetheus

        @All4Choice:disqus Who said I wanted a toy? I mainly do work with my Android phone. Anything from remote desktop to looking at and modifying spreadsheets and other documents. Android makes an extremely poor client for remote work outside of email. And even at that … the Activesync support in most modern phones has caught up. I would also love to play games on my down time … yes. For work and for play, BB is not more than a productive messaging machine. Period.

  • Max

    Typical RIMjob. Led by idiots.

    • Ghostnyc

      Your comment is spot on.  Considering RIM has the capital (cash), has made key acquisitions (QNX, TAT, DASH, VIIGO, etc), has the infrastructure around the world- Why do they continually seem to be behind the curve?   3 words- LACK OF LEADERSHIP.   The suits currently running the company lack vision & direction.  OS 7 will do nothing for their image, it would be a better move to scrap the current device line up and not introduce any new devices UNTIL QNX is available on all of them.

      • Mo

        LMAO

        OS 7?? More like OS6.1, more like OS6, more like OS5, more like OS4.5, more like OS4. Same old just different color icons and background. They have not innovated jack for a while.

      • Applesucksfatties

        It appears they are following crAPPLE’s lead in just putting more lipstick on the pig…no?

  • Anonymous

    RIM sucks, they have no direction. The latest blackberry phones are straight out of 2009

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JNKVTT7PJMXPYP2GVCIERBQQCU Andrew

       2008

      • Applesucksfatties

        Note to both of you iDouchers.. go by a crAPPLE product…. oh wait, they don’t even have message notification yet or a native messaging application yet.   Who is 2008/2009 now?

      • numetheus

        I still have no idea what you mean by no messaging application. You have obviously never used one.

  • http://twitter.com/UrbanEnigma Yves

    Being a RIM shareholder, I’d be inclined to agree with this analysis. As much as I like their products, RIM’s announcement to release duration span is probably the worst in the entire smartphone industry

    • Anonymous

      no, HP/Palm’s is MUCH worse.

  • Anonymous

    The Bold release says more about major US carriers than it does about RIM which probably explains Mr Suvas analysis. (Was he the “exclusive source” or were you both using the same contacts at Verizon/AT&T?).

    And with respect to the comments about RIM technology I’d be interested to know in which particular technologies RIM is lacking.

    As for the comments about announcement to release. Apple just announced iOS 5 – essentially at the end of May, but you won’t see it on a device until September at the earliest. RIM aren’t any different to anyone else in that regard.

    The one exception to that was the PlayBook which was pre-announced for specific reasons related to the lead time for enterprise purchasing decisions.

    In any case BGR’s reputation for unbiased commentary on the industry is now completely exposed. Might as well call it Mac Genius Report and remove the facade.

    • Anonymous

      Well, there is a bit of a difference in announcing a new software update vs. new hardware. The software update does not hurt the sales and position of one’s product, but actually enhances both areas. People looking to get the iPhone, but might be turned off by the lack of certain features might actually buy the device now knowing what iOS 5 will bring down the line, essentially enhancing their device. Same idea behind WP7 and Mango.

      With the announcement of new hardware, people are going to hold off buying the current hardware if there is a better one confirmed down the road. That’s why Apple isn’t stupid enough to announce iPhone 4S/5 when it isn’t going to be released until Fall. Yes, there will be a couple people who hold off based off rumors and assumption, but no where near the amount that would hold off if there was an official announcement.

      - VDubb

  • Rick Frost

    As of late all i see is RIM buying up companies, clearly they’re “RETAIL in Motion”.

    It wouldn’t be so bad if they started putting some of that stuff to use… Aside from QNX & TAT i haven’t seen a single thing come from all this.

    • Anonymous

      more like Retards in Motion with the likes of Lard-ass-idis and Ball-silly running the show… the shareholders should demand their immediate resignation… they are beyond incompetent…

      • Applesucksfatties

        Dude…  speaking of being incompetent…  you might want to stop with using the word “retard”…  so very NOT cool.

      • numetheus

        Are you offended? Your son, daughter, or wife a retard?

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001483324 Gerry Quaglia

        STFU

  • Anonymous

    What are the sales numbers for the Playbook versus the iPad 2?

  • Anonymous

    RIM=RIP

  • charles

    may be Microsoft-Nokia are playing behind the scenes to thwart the operator approval

  • Jebeco

    RIM needs to either get out of the hardware business, stop trying to be a major player in the consumer market, or just become a applications company where their services can run on other hardware.  Thye continue to drag themselves down with their lack efficient of excecution in the US as they try to simultaneously excecute in all segments.

    The can’t keep up in the consumer hardware space.  Trying to keep in the hardware space is dragging down their software excecution.  They do have great corporate infrastructure applications that have very high value and scale down wonderfully in the consumer space. 

    I think it’s just time for them to narrow their focus where they can continually stay ahead of the tech curve.  They simply can’t do that in today’s consumer market the way they are currently aligned.

  • http://twitter.com/homescrub homescrub

    I can’t say im not surprised.  These CEO’s are idiots.  They let Nokia Slip.  They let Palm Slip.  Soon enough, they will slip, and slip into oblivion. 

  • Mingwu1231

    the best way for Rim is to FIRE the stupid CEO

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001483324 Gerry Quaglia

      CEOs.  2 actually.  I can’t which one is stupider.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001483324 Gerry Quaglia

    RIM continues to circle the drain

  • Mavricxx

    Not EVEN certified by the carriers yet?  What the…Come on RIM, what the heck are you smoking!  Mass production hasn’t even started?  WOW!  I’m glad I’m not an investor.

  • Anonymous

    While it’s clear to see you’re well spoken and pretty well informed you’re definitely not making the most of your information. Fiscal results tend to take a backseat to growth and marketshare. RIM has been losing market share in key markets and their growth in underdeveloped countries is unsustainable. In order to succeed you need to keep hold of your position in the US and EU and Blackberry simply can not with it’s archaic devices and crap OS. While I see your point of QNX on the playbook, the fact is that not so eloquently put, nobody wants that shit. 7″ tablets are too small, QNX is a webOS knockoff all the way and they had to promise to run Android 2.2 apps or better just to garner interest because their Dev support is garbage. Sadly for RIM nowadays you live and die by media Proliferation, apps and web functionality. RIM has nothing future proofing it and has been using BBM as a ransom on their customers for years now. I fully expect iMessage to destroy BBMs hypnotic hold on their consumers and this latest round of too late to the market with the same crap they’ve been pushing will have a severely negative impact on their fiscal results too. This article makes total sense, my only disagreement would be to change the rating to sell and get out while you can. Wouldn’t surprise me if RIM is gobbled up within the next 3-5 years. This coming from someone who grew tired of RIMs crap devices and inherent issues upgraded to only Android, iPhones and WP7 devices and have never looked back. I will never use another RIM product unless I am forced to test it.

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