Research In Motion (RIMM) Counters Apple (AAPL)
Research In Motion (RIMM) is not standing still. It will introduce a new version of its Blackberry that runs on both cellular networks and WiFi. Odd as it may seem, the Apple (AAPL) iPhone also has a WiFi feature. RIMM…
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Research In Motion (RIMM) is not standing still. It will introduce a new version of its Blackberry that runs on both cellular networks and WiFi. Odd as it may seem, the Apple (AAPL) iPhone also has a WiFi feature.
RIMM does not really compete directly with the iPhone. The Blackberry is more of a business tool used for e-mail. But, as texting becomes more popular on cell phones and WiFi is added to many, RIMM cannot afford to take a technology back-seat. Apple may well be looking to the enterprise market, which it never really cracked with the Mac, as a place to market a business version of its latest product.
And, RIMM is interested in markets outside of business. As Reuters writes: "Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM is trying to broaden the market for its smartphones by loading them with consumer-aimed multimedia features like video and music players, and cameras."
The larger trend here is the movement of handsets to a WiFi platform. T-Mobile is coming to market with phones that will allow users to call from their homes using WiFi, a move that could cut overall calling costs. While WiFi is popular for uploading music files and e-mail, it ability to send voice over VoIP software could cut into cellular providers’ revenue and margins.
RIMM and Apple may win, but the like of AT&T (T) Wireless may have a problem.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.
McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.
His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.
A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.
TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.
McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.
