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BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

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Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#131

Post by potatolicious »

205guy wrote: post #128
jlgreco wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, I suspect there were people who thought the same as you when Shakespeare packaged up Greek mythology and fart jokes for the unwashed masses.

Right, but since then, we've attempted to give everyone a liberal arts education. But many are resistant to that and prefer the teat of the entertainment industry. Nothing wrong with hearing about something on TV and googling it (Wikipedia has revolutionized instant knowledge in this way). It's the people who don't dig deeper and don't realize the prior reference and deeper meaning to begin with. And so it seems like…

Seems a bit of an extrapolation, no? I never read Ozymandias in school, but I'm certain I've read very worthwhile literary works you've yet to read also. The notion that not having read some arbitrary, singular work implies general cultural ignorance is, well, about as silly as the statement sounds. It's almost as if different places and different times have different things in their English curricula! ;)

Going from "has not read a particular work" to "prefers the teat of the entertainment industry" is a bit of a leap.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#132

Post by seabrookmx »

eliben wrote: post #113
colmvp wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Intel really in any trouble? They're got a huge dominance on laptop/desktop processors, no?

Desktops are a huge, but declining business. In laptops they already have serious competition in Samsung's ARM-based Chromebooks. Besides, laptops also don't grow nearly as fast as smartphones and tablets. In markets, it's the growth that matters most, not the current revenue.

Android runs on x86, and Bay Trail could put Intel right back in the game if they get vendors on board: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7314/intel-baytrail-preview-in...

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#133

Post by bane »

w1ntermute wrote: post #51
martythemaniak wrote: post #35

I've been thinking about RIM lately and I think they basically had chances to turn themselves around, but took neither. The first was in '08/'09 - shortly after the iPhone. Some companies (Google, Samsung) saw where the industry was going, made the appropriate decisions and are now profiting handsomely. In hindsight, that was the right time for RIM to acquire QNX and start on BB10, which might have done very well had…

They should've moved to Android by 2011, when it was obvious that it was going to become dominant. If they'd built touchscreen phones with slide-out keyboards (like the Motorola Droid) and built an Android-based OS that also included their proprietary messaging and email solutions, I imagine they would be quite successful now.

I think they would have had to drive two different product lines, their traditional BBs (I know a few people who still cling to theirs) and some kind of AndroidBB. But marketing that and differentiating the two lines would have been a royal mess.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#134

Post by moca »

I have built software for large BlackBerry customers and met with RIMM people before. 3 years ago, I had suggested they should create an enterprise-oriented Android phones, such like Amazon created media-oriented tablets. 3 years ago, RIMM was still the #1 in enterprise smartphone market, and they had great chance to succeed in that area.

However, most companies are afraid to compete on fair battle background (Android). So instead of one, RIMM chose to fight 4 battles at the same time, hardware, software, ecosystem, marketing, and it lost on all of them. Now it is too late to change the fate. RIMM management was too afraid to change (really really afraid). It is said when I met RIMM people, and saw they couldn't do anything to save the sinking ship.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#135

Post by bio4m »

Speaking as an enterprise customer on long upgrade cycles, RIM/Blackberry badly judged the situation vis a vis their enterprise customer base.

The new Z10 was not compatible with their large install base of Blackberry Enterprise Server. Anyone still running BES at the time the Z10 was introduced was likely to be a shop interested in security and control of the mobile platform their end users were using.

Which is why businesses like my employer and many others kept buying BB OS7 devices (did you notice they didnt break numbers out and actually mentioned BBOS7 as a significant portion during their investor call ?)

TL;DR: They thought all their enterprise customers would upgrade fast, they guessed wrong.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#136

Post by tossaway1900 »

We're closing in on the launch of cross-platform BBM, and much of the work for that wasn't even done internally. They contracted that stuff out. Now they're cutting actual BB people. A lot of it is dead weight, and the usual bloated middle management, but I can't wait to see who else gets the axe here.

Make no mistake, the goal is to sell the company at this point. That is why BBM is suddenly the focus. They know that they aren't going to stay afloat with phone sales. They'll cut to the bone, and beef up one of their main commodities (BBM) until the sale happens.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#137

Post by akandiah »

jzwinck wrote: post #124
L_Rahman wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bryan Cranston of this to promote the second half of the final season of Breaking Bad. It's set to some beautiful shots of the New Mexico desert. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3dpghfRBHE

"Not available in your country." This is absurd, considering what I imagine the content to be.

Here's another version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-PXfzsj4o

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#138

Post by tsotha »

eliben wrote: post #113
colmvp wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Intel really in any trouble? They're got a huge dominance on laptop/desktop processors, no?

Desktops are a huge, but declining business. In laptops they already have serious competition in Samsung's ARM-based Chromebooks. Besides, laptops also don't grow nearly as fast as smartphones and tablets. In markets, it's the growth that matters most, not the current revenue.

Intel is fine. They have such a huge manufacturing and capital advantage they can afford to lose time after time, whereas the likes of AMD and ARM can only afford to lose once. Intel will own the mobile space in a decade or so.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#139

Post by HorizonXP »

tossaway1900 wrote: post #136

We're closing in on the launch of cross-platform BBM, and much of the work for that wasn't even done internally. They contracted that stuff out. Now they're cutting actual BB people. A lot of it is dead weight, and the usual bloated middle management, but I can't wait to see who else gets the axe here. Make no mistake, the goal is to sell the company at this point. That is why BBM is suddenly the focus. They know tha…

This is incorrect. It was mostly done in-house, with some outside help.

Re: BlackBerry to cut 4,500 jobs, predicts 2nd quarter loss of $950M

#140

Post by thornkin »

bane wrote: post #133
w1ntermute wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They should've moved to Android by 2011, when it was obvious that it was going to become dominant. If they'd built touchscreen phones with slide-out keyboards (like the Motorola Droid) and built an Android-based OS that also included their proprietary messaging and email solutions, I imagine they would be quite successful now.

I think they would have had to drive two different product lines, their traditional BBs (I know a few people who still cling to theirs) and some kind of AndroidBB. But marketing that and differentiating the two lines would have been a royal mess.

They had two CEOs. Let each take one platform.
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