RIM Buyout Scenario and Questions

RIM is now cheaper to buy than Yahoo.  Even with a twenty percent premium, RIM can be had for $18 billion – plenty of companies are capable of buy them out with just even the cash reserves on hand.  

Microsoft quickly comes to mind.  Intel.  Cisco.  Google.  Oh, and then there's the unlikely candid that is Apple. 

Three questions need to be asked about a RIM buyout scenario:

1. Who's more likely to pull the trigger?  
2. How would it change the landscape?
3. And is Apple really not as likely to be a RIM suitor?

I think we'll know in the next few months just how likely RIM is going to survive and in what form.

Ani-Virus Maker Wants An Open Insecured iOS So They Can Sell Anti-Virus Apps

Kaspersky, anti-virus maker, thinks Apple ought to open up the iOS because it is concerned that Android is kicking the iPhone's butt.  That concern is heart felt if not for the fact that the iOS as a whole is a bigger mobile platform than Android (including iPod touch and iPad) and that its has not been able to make money off of Apple's success like other app makers are.

According to Kaspersky CTO, he's worried about Apple's walled garden being competitive with Android.  

Okay...dude, just come out and say it.  And open iOS means you can sell anti-virus softwares to users who currently don't have a need for it.  And open iOS means it'll be inherently more insecure, allowing a bunch of apps with malware to enter the app stores like what's going on with Android.  

Just, this week, Google removed 10 apps with malware alone.  What Kaspersky should be doing is to promote its services to Android users like myself worried the increasing malware threats.  Not trump up idiotic statements like the iOS needing to be open so it can be competitive.

Even Android blogsite, Phandroid is promoting the idea that Google needs to lock down the marketplace some more.  So, Kaspersky dude, better do what you can before Google makes you obsolete too.

Source: computing.co.uk.

RIM: Making Money Still, Worry Is That It'll Stop With Increasing Competition

Research In Motion, maker of the iconic Blackberry and Playbook (not as iconic), got clobbered yesterday as its stock is down more than 21% as of this writing.  As a publicly traded company, making hundreds of millions isn't enough to stem the ire of stockholders.  

I know, it's all about being able to compete in the marketplace and RIM's mobile gears are not doing so well.  And while the two CEOs reminded financial analysts during the call yesterday night, RIM is still very profitable.  However, the fear is that it'll stop making money all together if it doesn't get its acts together.

Increased competition from Apple over the years stunted RIM's growth and lead to losses of market share.  

While management has pleaded for patience until new products reach the marketplace, those based on its QNX operating system, investors and bloggers think it might already be too late.  References to Palm has kept cropping up during user commenters on various blogs as the financial call started.  

Also, the iPhone has made great progress into enterprise, the last of Blackberry stronghold and the halo efforts of the iPad has made the iPhone more of an attractive alternative to the BB.  Furthermore, these troubles at RIM could for IT to rethink their commitments to Blackberries.  After all, they need to keep an eye to the future.

Then there's the tablet market.  RIM said it has shipped 500K units.  Immediately, many took that as a good sign.  But after sitting back to look at the wording, "shipped" does not meant "sold".  When pressed on this issue, one of the two CEOs said that RIM has no firm number.  But a moment later, he said that he was happy with the sold-through.  So which is it?  Now can RIM be happy about a figure they don't have?

Furthermore, layoffs are on the books.  And while many want the co-CEOs to be among them, it's not likely to happen. And it's beginning to look like if they're still in charge, a turnaround is less likely to happen any time soon.  Meanwhile, Apple will continue to eat away in enterprise.  

Just wait until Apple releases the next iPhone and, quite possibly, a budget version.  If you think things are bad now for RIM, you haven't seen nothing yet.

Apple Escalates Copycat Lawsuit Against Samsung; Sammy Needs To Also Watch Its Six For Nokia

Today, Apple escalated its copycat and patent lawsuit against Samsung, one of Apple's largest sources for parts used in its iOS arsenal.  The epic battle between Apple and Nokia ended earlier this week and it probably freed up a lot of resources for Apple to go after Samsung, which is really a shot a Google.

If anyone thought this would go away quietly, he or she could not have been any more wrong about anything in his or her life.  This battle will span continents and just about all other Android handset makers will be looking out for this.  Take the blatant copycat iPhone 4 running Android on sale at Sears.  (Doesn't seem like a bad device either.)

While I cannot see where Samsung has copied Apple, I'm not a patent lawyer so I cannot for sure.  Maybe a couple of devices but the Galaxy tablets?  Hmmm...

Anyway, Samsung could be facing a new foe in the courts if not the marketplace soon.  Nokia, reinvigorated by its win over Apple, could be looking for more.  And while Apple has yet to go after Google directly, Nokia probably doesn't have a problem with that.  

So while all the Android folks are looking at the Apple-Samsung dust-up, they need to be watching their sixes for Nokia.

Unlocked GSM iPhones Show Why T-Mobile Sale to AT&T Should Not Go Through

Despite ATT saying that T-Mobile is good for competition, I just don't see it.  I'm not sure AT&T even tries to justify or explain that statement.  But if there is one example right now that shows we should be against this merger is the unlocked iPhone.
 
If you go out there and buy the unlocked iPhone, you can use it only with AT&T.  With a bit of an effort, you can get it work with T-Mobile by trimming your SIM card into a microsim card. 
 
However, you cannot enjoy the HPSA+ network that T-Mobile is calling 4G which theoretically is faster than AT&T"s on "4G" network.  While ATT is at 7.2Mbps, T-Mobile is moving towards 42Mbps.  Having said that, if you manage to get it working with T-Mobile, you are stuck on EDGE because of the difference in frequencies on which the two HSPA networks run on.
 
Now, here's the part you're waiting for.  Even if you decided against signing up for a two-year commitment with AT&T and get the unlocked iPhone 4 from Apple, ATT does not offer a lower and comparable voice and data plan.  AT&T reminds us that their high rates are because of the subsidies they pay Apple so that post-paid users won't have to pay for the $650 or $750 upfront for the 16 GB or 32 GB respectively.
 
By that reasoning, shouldn't AT&T offer a plan that costs less because an unlocked iPhone paid for it in full? 
 
The answer is no.  Which really puts the high costs AT&T charges users unnecessarily higher.  And that's okay.  That's just business. 
 
With an independent T-Mobile as it is now, a future iPhone that supports its HSPA+ network puts it in direct competition with AT&T.  And traditionally, T-Mobile offers better rates than either AT&T or Verizon.  In fact, T-Mobile does have better pre-paid deals than AT&T. 
 
A lot of us think that Apple is about to release an iPhone for T-Mobile this year.  I think once that happens, we'll see a lot of defections from AT&T to T-Mobile.  And you know what?  When that happens, I can't see how AT&T can explain why eliminating T-Mobile is a good deal for the average mobile warrior. 
 
What going to be the kicker is that if the number of iPhone users defecting from AT&T to T-Mobile is such a huge number that AT&T's immediate bottom-line is affected and is forced to provide better deals to stem the loss of subscribers, it will really put a galactic size hole in AT&T's arguments, whatever they are, that the merger is good for competition.

Jailbreaking Has Been Important To Android and Even More so For iPhone

Android isn't open.  Let's put that issue to bed.  What is awesome about Android is that programmers have access to the various builds that allow the community to build on top of it or, in some instances, stripping away skins that are for the most part, unwanted and give users something to rail about on their blogs or in forums. 

 

Once stripped, the native OS became more useful, faster, and took up smaller amounts of foot print.  Take my G1, it's running a customized Android 2.2.  This is a device that was left for dead by Google and T-Mobile.  This is the maiden device that introduced the world to all that is cool and great about Android.

 

And take HTC Desire which HTC on Monday said it was abandoning.  I wager my year's salary that through the community of Android programmers, the Desire will be a couple more Android updates long after HTC has moved on. 

 

And jailbreaking or rooting isn't just Android.  iPhone unlocking and jailbreaking is fast becoming an American geek past-time and, for a while, turned into a must-see cat-and-mouse game between Apple and a few determined hackers that are determined to pry open the walled garden.

 

And though Apple would never admit it, I think more than a few at Apple are happy that the home team lost.  This is especially evident in the iOS 5 where a couple of keep features like notifications came through as a JB feature. 

 

And then take WhiteD00r. Those are zeros, no "o".  After Apple has abandoned the iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G, this group of hardworking folks has found a way to give these older but still awesome iPhones new life – multitasking and folders quickly comes to mind but with also many missing features enjoyed by only by the latest and greatest, the iPhone 4.

 

If I'm Apple, I would hire this group of programmers in a heart beat. 

 

So as much as the carriers and device makers want to pretend these under-the-radar don't exist, they cannot ignore the impact that they have had on their mobile platforms.  And, I cannot wait until Honeycomb and iOS 5 gets their turn.

Apple's New Wi-Fi Routers Coming, Possibly With More Power And Functions Than Before

Wi-Fi routers are nothing we typical give a second thought about.  We get it up and working and pretty much forget about it.  Some people don't even change the admin password.  In the current models, Apple even stick in a hard drive for backup and file storage.  Now, Apple could be giving them the same insides as a typical iPhone or iPad.  

What would this kind of power be used for?  One possibility is iCloud.  It isn't a bit of a stretch here.  iCloud is the link that Apple hopes will propel us from beyond the desktop or laptop and relegate the PC to just another accessory from which we are linked to the iCloud.  And new powerful routers like the ones that Apple is working will enable that vision.

On a smaller scale, I would like to see these routers work as Apple TV as well.  It would go a long way in help iOS enter the living.  Imagine having a router, media streaming device, and a home cloud storage system all in one neat little box.  

And with my iOS devices, I would be able to access all that information remotely from iCloud wherever I am.

Source:  Appleinsider.