A View on View :: New RAZR Spooks RIM Investors

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New RAZR Spooks RIM Investors

by Mark Evans on Mon 25 Jul 2005 03:44 PM EDT | Permanent Link

Barron's writes a story about Motorola's new RAZR, and RIM shares tumble. I guess it's just more evidence that investors remain worried about the next Blackberry-killer. Yes, Barron's is a respected publication so you have to take it seriously when it proclaims the new RAZR "points it directly at the heart of RIM's popular BlackBerry". Then again, Barron's isn't first media outlet - or the last - to proclaim the sky is falling on RIM. Truth be old, when it comes to mobile e-mail, RIM has a strong grip on the market. Its devices work extremely well, users see value in paying $75 to $100 a month for the service, and carriers love the higher ARPU. This isn't to suggest there will not be competition but the market still has plenty of room for growth so, for the time being, there is enough for everyone. Rather than worry about new e-mail devices on the horizon, RIM investors should focus on how the company is positioning itself for the next growth opportunity. RIM has talked about morphing into a "wireless application platform" but it remains to be seen if this plan can be realized. If RIM really wants to improve its stickiness, I suggest it develop a new and improved Web browser, and align itself with a portal partner(s) to drive new revenue opportunities. At the very least, RIM could get users to eat up more minutes and draw consumers away from the Treo 650.
Update: Motorola CEO Ed Zander gave analysts a look at its hot, new device called "Q", or the RAZRberry, that features a QWERTY keyboard, electro-luminescent keys, the ability to to send and receive e-mail, surf the Web and take photos with a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash. Q will use Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0. For a sneak peek of "Q", check out the Gadget Guy.

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Re: New RAZR Spooks RIM Investors

by Jim Courtney on Mon 25 Jul 2005 08:00 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Too bad Barron's did not attend RIM's AGM last Monday; they might have discovered RIM's strategy for stickiness. And that, until RAZR, Good and Micorsoft have 49,000 enterprise server installations - which can also serve as a base for "stickier" applications, they have a long way to catch up to RIM.

Re: New RAZR Spooks RIM Investors

by Anonymous on Wed 27 Sep 2006 04:19 PM EDT | Permanent Link

Really!! The new Motorola Razr could be in a risky bussiness operation!

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