New phones, new name, new direction: RIM rebrands as Blackberry, unveils two smartphones

blackberry

Talk about a makeover. At the Blackberry 10 event, CEO Thorsten Heins announced today that his company will no longer be called Research in Motion (RIM), and instead just “Blackberry.” The company stock ticker symbol is changing from “RIM” and is now listed as “BBRY” on NASDAQ, and “BB” on TSX. You can watch Blackberry CMO… Read More…

RIM cast-off NewBay acquired in $55.5 million deal

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Well, that didn’t last too long. RIM has decided to cut ties with NewBay Software, selling the provider of mobile content delivery technologies to publicly-traded Synchronoss Technologies. As it turns out, RIM is taking a bit of a bath on the deal, selling NewBay for $55.5 million in cash. That’s about half the $100 million price… Read More…

Someone Like You: An ode to my BlackBerry

Adele. Photo via Wikipedia

Never mind, I’ll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you too. Don’t forget me, I beg, I remember, you said, “Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead. Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.” —Adele, “Someone Like You” I broke it off with the… Read More…

Microsoft, RIM ink patent deal for smartphone tech

blackberry-rim

Microsoft announced today that it has licensed certain patents to RIM, yet another move by the software giant to use its arsenal of intellectual property. In this case, the BlackBerry maker is licensing patents related to what’s known as Extended File Allocation Table, a file system that allows large multimedia files to be easily ported between… Read More…

Report: RIM looking to offload NewBay after 10 months

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Well, that certainly didn’t last too long. Just 10 months after purchasing NewBay Software for $100 million, Research in Motion is looking to sell the cloud services provider, according to a report by Reuters citing a source familiar with the situation. NewBay, whose cloud-based digital content offerings power photo albums, social networking services and calendars for… Read More…

Microsoft: A white knight for BlackBerry, or a vulture?

BlackBerry Bold

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion found itself in an even deeper hole this week after delaying the launch of BlackBerry 10, cutting  jobs and reporting a significant quarterly loss. And now comes news that Microsoft is circling the company. A report by Reuters this morning, quoting three unnamed sources, says the Redmond company has approached… Read More…

Report: RIM may break itself apart, with Amazon or Facebook picking up some of the pieces

BlackBerry Bold

The on-again, off-again rumors swirling around Research in Motion are back on following a report by The Sunday Times that the BlackBerry maker is considering a plan to split itself in two, possibly selling off its handset business to Amazon.com or Facebook. The report also suggests that another option for the struggling Canadian company would… Read More…

Nearly 100 million Americans own a smartphone, and just 4.7% choose Windows Phone

windowsphone

The holiday season wasn’t too cheerful for Microsoft, at least when it came to its Windows Phone business. According to a new report from comScore, Microsoft lost market share during the three month period ending December 31st. Obviously, that’s a critical holiday sales period, a time when many people pick up new mobile devices. However,… Read More…

RIM’s new CEO states the obvious in YouTube video: ‘We have to get better at execution’

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RIM, which has struggled to keep its BlackBerry line of smartphones relevant amid increasing competition from the iPhone and Android, today replaced co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis with a little-known executive by the name of Thorsten Heins. (Full release here). Who is Thorsten Heins? Well, as part of the introductory process, the company posted… Read More…

Who could buy RIM? A laundry list of potential suitors

BlackBerry Bold

RIM has been discussed as potential acquisition bait now for years, yet no one has stepped up to take the full plunge. Could that change this year? Well, the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry appears to be taking steps down that path, with Reuters reporting that it has hired investment banking firm Goldman Sachs to… Read More…