Waterloo’s RIM(TSE:RIM), maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry just can’t seem to catch a break lately. Despite posting 4.9 billion in revenue and 695 million in profit for Q1 2011 RIM stock has continued to take a pounding, droping to $27.14.
More after the break…
Blackberry’s have revolutionized the market and seemed to have a firm grasp on the smartphones pioneering features such as push email, enterprise level security, and its BBM chat client. However in the last couple of years it has faced fierce competition from the Apple Iphone and the vast array of Android devices.
Rim has fallen behind from a consumer standpoint and it’s seemingly always finding itself one step behind in terms of hardware and an Application ecosystem.
Stephen Jarislowsky, chairman of Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd and RIM’s 6th largest shareholder, stated that “They are resting on their laurels, Steve Jobs is a much better marketer than RIM,”. Fraser Ltd has sold about 50% of its 10.2 million shares of RIM that are worth about $361-milliion US.
RIM is hoping to bounce back with a wave of Blackberry devices and the release of its Playbook tablet along with the planned migration of BB OS7. We hope to see the once dominating force in the telecom industry bounce back into the forefront. However, based on their upcoming lineup of devices the future of the push email pioneer, seems questionable.
SOURCE: Google Finance, Financial Post
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