Blog Archives
RIM throws up the white flag; acknowledges iOS in the enterprise space.
Today Research In Motion has pretty much said if we can’t beat them, lets profit of them. They have launched a new enterprise mobile device management tool called BlackBerry MobileFusion. With this tool IT managers can manage BlackBerry smartphones and the little used BlackBerry PlayBook. The software will also be able to manage tablets and smartphones running Android and iOS. So a IT manager will be able to do the following to your iDevice should you have it on the company network.
- Activate and configure devices and profiles over the air
- Enable access to enterprise Mail, Calendar and PIM
- Administer users and groups, natively and directory based
- Establish corporate IT Policies and Security
- Manage lost devices – Password Reset, Device Lock, Device Wipe
- Deploy internally-developed apps
- Define (and enforce) public applications as mandatory or optional
- Provides Rooting & Jailbreak Detection
- Prevent apps from accessing corporate mail accounts
Blackberry says “IT managers need to accommodate individually purchased units that come into the enterprise, whether by a sales rep deciding to expense the latest handset, a doctor bringing in their personal phone for hospital work, or a field worker getting whatever’s available on special as a replacement unit.”
BlackBerry Mobile Fusion server software is a free download and Client Access Licenses are included free for 60 days at the moment as well too. This will give IT managers a chance to try it out before a full roll out.
RIM Blackberry 10: iPhone iOS clone?
Research in Motion has already confirmed that BlackBerry 10 smartphones won’t be shipping until late this year. This will not help them if they are trying to get into the good graces of Smartphone buyers. CrackBerry showed a preview of what’s to come. They will have home screen widgets. They also have iOS-styled folders and integrated video calling.
The new BlackBerry 10 widgets look like they were cut and paste from Windows and Android. The new folder icon shows you a preview of the applications inside and a dedicated video chat button. The BlackBerry 10 OS looks like it is years ahead of RIM’s current OS but will it be enough to get people to buy a Blackberry? I think the answer to that is no. It is way too late in the game right now. They would have to do something that is a game changer. BGR reported that the BlackBerry London will be the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone to market. It is scheduled for a late September release but realistically it’s looking more like October.
BlackBerry has been going downhill for awhile now. It’s new low being, dethrone as top smart phone in the Enterprise workspace
BlackBerry has been going downhill for some time now. The two headed CEO leadership just keeps saying everything is alright. We are still “King of the World” like they can’t see what everyone else sees. The near death of a once untouchable market leader. The service interruption might have been the last straw that pushed users and businesses over the edge. The timing could not have been better for other phone manufacturers looking to take a bite out of the enterprise space.
The release of iPhone’s are always a big deal for everyone this time around. Many Telecom, IT and just people who are forced to carry a BlackBerry thought long and hard this time around about making the switch. It seem to have worked. According to a report by iPass you might see an iPhone around the office more than you see a BlackBerry. Truth be told I see more and more of them everyday in the office. Most people where I an issued BlackBerry and a person iPhone on their hips gunslinger style. What the Mobile Workforce Report from research firm iPass is saying is that people are now actually being issued iPhones instead of a Blackberry.
The report states 45% of the enterprise workforce carries an iPhone, up from 31.1% last year. BlackBerry market share has only 32% Android’s market share doubled year over year to surpass Symbian. I tend to take Android numbers with a grain of salt since everyone and their mother makes a phone for the platform. Nevertheless they have 21% share of the enterprise smartphone market. So they soon as next year could pass BlackBerry as well since only 2.3% of workers have plans to buy a BlackBerry next year.
The iPass study also shows that found a number of other compelling tidbits: 40% of mobile workers would feel disoriented if they didn’t have a smartphone for a week. I feel that way if missing my iPhone for an hour. The iPass study was based on a survey of more than 2,300 workers around the world. Feel free to read the report at iPass. Note that it is a PDF.
RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis Gives a public apology for ongoing World Wide BlackBerry outage
Lazaridis said “We’ve let many of you down. You expect better from us. And I expect better from us. We are working around the clock to fix this.” RIM had thought the issue was resolved late Monday. They were wrong the service interruptions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa led to a back log of data. This is what the current issue is. The main core switch failure issue has been taken care of but all that back log of emails and text have to catch up. It’s like a clogged drain of data right now for RIM.
Lazaridis said said that “normal BlackBerry service levels” in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa where it all started are back to normal. The co-chief warned that RIM is not out of the woods yet. That is correct it is going to take a while for all that data to get back to normal. There are a lot of companies and most of the US government use RIM daily. Productivity should be at a all time high. People can go old school and hands on. Make phone calls, remember that, a voice not a text? This is not a good time for this to happen. The iPhone 4S comes out Friday. I look for a lot of people to jump ship on the failing company. Unfortunately Enterprise do not have that luxury.
Blackberry: Black & Blue year continues. Service out for 3rd day
BlackBerry users across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and even some areas in South America are still without access to the Wen or messaging services for the third consecutive day. BlackBerry had said the issues were resolved following one day of service interruptions to millions of users.
Research In Motion confirmed earlier that a bug on a Blackberry server was responsible for the issues they have had. There were millions offline on Monday. Than on Tuesday that the interruption continued. The bug that is the caused a core switch failure is still not fixed. RIM now says the outage has caused a large backlog of data that must be cleared before service can return to normal. No firm timeline has been issued.
RIM says on the support website: Service update
Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested. As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to many of you and we will continue to keep you informed.
Google buys Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion: Says to Apple & Microsoft Now what?!
We were wondering if Google would do anything to gear up for a fight that Apple is bent on bringing to the Android. Google tried to buy some patents. Then went tick for tack with Microsoft over not winning any. They looked pretty childish in the press over it as well. It seems that Google had an Ace in it’s sleeves. A 12.5 Billion dollar deal does not just happen over a weekend. This must have been in the works for a while. It should be interesting to see what if anything Apple has to say about this deal. Also as a side bar. Note to RIM; these are the type of deals you should be looking at doing to help your company out.
Google has more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwide. There are more than 550,000 devices being turned on every day. They are in over 122 countries. Given Android’s phenomenal success brings a lot of fear from the other market leaders. Namely Apple. Apple has been going after Android tablet and phone makers as of late. With the way Android was build and the open source nature of the OS. It was hard for companies to defend themselves. Apple has a whole lot of money to through into the law system and comes up with a new patent every week.
Google and it’s Android makers were at a major disadvantage. That is why I am so excited today to announce that we have agreed to acquire Motorola. Google paid $12.5 billion to purchase smartphone vendor Motorola Mobility. That is small change to Google. You might be wondering how does this effect Samsung and other companies that use the OS. The acquisition will not change the way Google handles the Android platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android. It will still be open for others to use. Although do look out for MotoBlur to be removed in the not to distant future. and Android will remain open.
Google said it will run Motorola as a separate business. Google CEO Larry Page explained the acquisition will help bolster the tech giant’s patent portfolio. That is the main reason that Motorola was brought. To be in a position to better protect Android as a whole. Even though Motorola will test future versions of the OS before others. Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC, and LG have all issued statements in support of the acquisition. They realized that it is good for business as a whole. They had the following to say:
- J.K. Shin, president of Samsung’s Mobile Communications said “We welcome today’s news, which demonstrates Google’s deep commitment to defending Android, its partners, and the ecosystem”
- Sony Ericsson president and CEO Bert Nordberg said “I welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners”
- LG’s president and CEO Jong-Seok Park said “We welcome Google’s commitment to defending Android and its partners”
- HTC’s CEO Peter Chou said “We welcome the news of today’s acquisition, which demonstrates that Google is deeply committed to defending Android, its partners, and the entire ecosystem”
Google CEO Larry Page wrote the following:
“The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to ‘protect competition and innovation in the open source software community’ and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.”
The Press Release: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility
Combination will Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition, and Offer Wonderful User Experiences
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
“Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.
Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”
Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, said, “We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.
BGR publishes open letter about RIM. Less than 24 hours later plans to spit Co-CEO role. Coincidence I think not!
RIM seems to have listen to the Open Letter that was published on BGR. RIM said it would consider splitting its Chief Executive and Chairman roles. That partnership has worked well for RIM. According to RIM, they ship 100 phones per minute. While very success overseas is great, in the United States RIM is perceived as “old school.” It’s the phone your father was forced to use for work. It at one time was the very definition of a smartphone. The times have since changed but RIM along with other one time innovation leaders seem to be stuck in a rut.
Why is RIM doing this change ahead of its annual shareholder meeting next month? Simple, RIM has been under a lot criticism from shareholders about Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis who both share CEO roles. Now keep in mind that RIM is only forming a committee to study the CEO and board roles. That means nothing might happen other than hope it’s enough to get the monkey of their backs for a little bit.
RIM and NEI Investments Announce Withdrawal of Shareholder Proposal; RIM Committee to Review Matter Raised by Proposal
Waterloo, ON -
Research In Motion Limited (“RIM”) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. (“NEI Investments”) announced today that, following discussions between them, NEI Investments has decided to withdraw its proposal that was to be considered at the RIM Annual General Meeting. The proposal asked that RIM’s Board of Directors adopt a policy that divides the role of Chair and CEO, and that RIM have an independent Chair. The parties have agreed that RIM’s Board will establish a Committee of independent directors whose mandate will generally be to (i) study the appropriate balance between an independent lead director or chair with full and exclusive authority customarily held by such an office holder, (ii) determine the business necessity for RIM’s Co-CEOS to have significant Board level titles to assist their selling and other responsibilities with certain large customers in overseas markets, and (iii) propose and provide a rationale for a recommended governance structure for RIM, which will include clarifications of the Co-CEOs and Chair roles, as well as the Board’s mandate. The Committee will consult with NEI Investments in developing the specific terms of reference for this mandate and before it issues its report by January 31, 2012. The Board will publicly respond to the recommendations of the Committee within 30 days.
As a result, the proposal will no longer be presented at the Annual General Meeting and no vote will be taken on the proposal at the meeting. RIM and NEI Investments are pleased to have reached an agreement on this matter, and these important issues of corporate governance will receive further consideration at the RIM Board level.
BlackBerry Messenger will finally be on Android & iDevices
BGR is reporting that Research In Motion (RIM) is bring BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android and iDevices. When? We have no idea. Sometime this year is a pretty forgiving time frame. According to BGR’s sources, RIM has not yet come up pricing but it might be free. I do not think it will be free. They would have to charge for it. Just a reasonable one time fee. It would not be a smart move to charge a monthly fee for it. Less they want to give Apple a 30% cut each month.
RIM will offer stripped down versions of the BBM experience found on BlackBerry devices. That means they would not be able to share photos, location, or videos. So it will be just text. Which all I want anyway. If you want to full deal of everything BBM has to offer you would have to get a BlackBerry device.
