BlackBerry shipments break record in Q3, RIM profits jump 59 percent
By Vlad Savov 
posted December 18th 2009 9:41AM
posted December 18th 2009 9:41AM
RIM being a thriving and profitable company is hardly a new story -- as confirmed by third quarter earnings of $628 million off the back of a record-breaking 10 million units sold -- but the way it's making its money seems to be changing. More than 80 percent of new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter were private customers, marking a distinct shift -- maybe not away from the corporate arena, but definitely toward embracing the consumer market. In an effort to further consolidate its global empire, RIM has also announced a partnership with China Telecom to go along with its earlier China Mobile deal. Oh, and there's the small matter of the 75 millionth BlackBerry being sold, but we're sure the cool cats up in BB HQ aren't counting handsets, they're probably too busy rolling around in piles of money.
I'm getting a blackberry soon! I'm really excited about it. I don't know why anyone would go to get an iphone or anything like that. Blackberry is the way!
@Someoneishere apple fanboyz will be very upset. Prepare to be voted down for unknown reasons.
@Someoneishere
the screens are too small on anything but the storm. and the storm sucks rocks. (or at least it tries to before it runs out of memory.)
@Shadow
BlackBerry's aren't made to be media machines, they're made to be life organisers and phones.
@martynmcfarquhar I've actually watched a couple of movies on long flights on my 8900. Yes, it's a small screen, but the resolution and color depth are fantastic, and sound quality is outstanding. Would I love a larger screen? Sure. But until Palm brings out a Pre using GSM and T-Mobile 3G so I can get my landscape hardware keyboard on my carrier of choice, I'm out of luck.
@Someoneishere
Maybe because the OS doesn't look like Command Prompt.
@Someoneishere
If i could get an AfroBerry and keep my ancient-arsed-cheap-as-hell Sprint Vision data plan from 2002 (when it used to cost $10 for unltd data, AND NO, I AM NOT ON SERO!!!) then i would, but as of now, only Win Mobile phones don't require you to change to a no-vaseline-butt-stuffing-bend-you-over Sprint everything plan which would literally DOUBLE my bill, and for the exact same features. So for me i use a Win Mobile Treo Pro and keep my bill HALF of $70 bucks a month.
Right now if i shoot for an AfroBerry on Sprint, i'm looking at minimum $70 + taxes. Too much. Choice is simple for me...
@Someoneishere "I don't know why anyone would go to get an iPhone or anything like that.
Bigger screen, faster processor, more storage space, more applications, better browsing experience, soft keyboard, etc...
Different strokes...
@Someoneishere
I totally get the corporate crowd and have to agree there is no better device for corporate email than blackberry
But other than that I fail to understand why a regular customer is impressed by a blackberry.
Not just the iphone , but any android device , palm pre will easily outclass a blackberry in everything else.
@sycamore714
Historically... "common folk" got Blackberries because of the keyboard... and if you wanted a little more than a feature phone like the enV.
I work in dance studios, and I can't tell you how many teenagers have Blackberries... mostly as a result of the buy-one-get-one Family Plans from Verizon, etc.
Plus, if a lot of your friends have Blackberries... BB Messenger is one hell of an IM application. And, Blackberries have real web browsers... something that a feature phone's "mobile web" can't touch. Then add Facebook, Twitter, GPS, etc... and Blackberries can do a lot.
There are "apps" for feature phones like the enV3... but unless you object to the $30 data plan... I don't know why anyone would get a feature phone instead of a Blackberry.
Android is nice... but the Droid only came out last month on Verizon. There are tons of people on Verizon... so those people probably have a Blackberry already. It will be interesting to see how many people adopt Android phones over the next couple of years.
Kudos to RIM. As a friendly reminder, fix the damn browser.
I hope RIM releases a BB that has a TouchPro2ish landscape keyboard. TP2 is the best keyboard I've ever use ( I have oversized thumbs - one thumb is like 5 blackberry curve keys wide )
Other than that, RIM defend thee throne !!! DO NOT let Apple steal the crown from you!
Also, kudos for the implementation of WebKit on the next BB browser and for joining the Open Screen Project.
@TikiTeko
Your thumbs are huge!
I guess the market niche for enterprise phones is not a "niche" after all.
@WeirdHero The market niche for landscape hardware keyboards is huge. And no one else is catering to it.
@mmaestro
Which BB device is it that has the landscape hardware kb?
I don't want to start flame wars, I am just giving my opinion.
I've just got BlackBerry Tour 9630, and after trying so many phones, I can say: "Finally, that's the mobile OS done right!"
Of course, my opinion is subjective, I use phone for business (including emails, instant messaging and tethering), so all touch-screen-keyboard phones don't work for me (I tried both Samsung Omnia and iPhone for 2 years). I need a physical keyboard.
I played with Droid... well it has the keyboard, but it's impossible to use it with one hand for a quick shortcuts. Plus it's clogged with icons, you need to dig out the phone application, and so on... Not for me.
I tried HTC Touch Pro. The idea of the phone is nice, but implementation... It is unresponsive and Opera browser is really hard to use.
Samsung had a great phone - BlackJack (I owned BlackJack II). Unfortunately they turned it into Samsung Saga, which is a slow, huge behemoth.
Bottom line: if you are a liberal-consumer type, then you might prefer Droid, iPhone, Omnia, etc. If you work on the road and need a USABLE physical keyboard - then I would wholeheartedly recommend BlackBerry!
Great news RIM, yay... Now can you make a functional internet browser!
the sad part? those were probably mainly curves. everyone is drinking enough blackberry koolaid to fail to realize how crap a phone that is in 09
I have a feeling Apple will be taking a cue from RIM's stick-the-Blackberry-on-all-four-carriers strategy soon. That's what's making them so successful, you can get a Blackberry no matter what network you are contracted into or has service in your area.
this doesn't surprise me at all.. the kids in my town don't want iphones they don't want a droid.. they all want a blackberry.. BBMing is so hot right now; at least where i live
@rads06
Same thing over here. All of a sudden, EVERYONE has a BB over here... And I don't mean a town, I mean a whole country (we're not that big, anyway, but still!). BB Messenger is THE THING right now.
Kind feel bad for my S60. But what can I do if the only BB I would like is Bold 9700 and it costs approx. $600?
Crazy rich kids.
Finally some good news for an Ontario-based business after two years of low auto demand and a high dollar.
I'm really surprised RIM has been able to keep their sales up. BBOS just seems to ancient these days compared to Android or iPhone. It would make more sense if the Storm was driving their sales but it's mostly classic BlackBerries with small screens and old BBOS. I guess it just shows a lot of people don't really care about a big selection of third party apps, media, a fully featured web browser, etc. The BB phone/messaging functionality is really good and I suppose that's all these people really care about.
@(Unverified)
And that is also why the iphone crowd, capacitive screen crowds simply don't understand what a smartphone is supposed to be. touchscreen devices have been around before and people still went back to hardkeys and devices that actually function in a true mobile use-case.
The worst thing about the iphone was it made every user an "expert" and those same "experts" said that both BB and Nokia were doomed. Some analysts went so far as to recommend against buying BB stocks as they, essentially,"couldn't compete with the iPhone" and will likely go under. This was despite the fact that BB was growing both marketshare and revenue. And here we are today with this news.
For people who weren't so caught up in being reality distorted by Stevo, they would have easily seen that RIM was doing extremely well over the last few years. And lo and behold, Apple still hasn't beaten them despite having "the best phone evar".
GO RIM. The new Storm is going well and the other Blackberrys with keyboards are outselling everything else.
BlackBerrys also have a real OS that can do more than one thing at a time (unlike the iPhone) and it is real easy to use.
Considering all of the talk about Android (and Apple, Palm, etc) tech on this blog in comparison to BB, to me this is hard evidence of how we, the frequenters to Engadget, are truly the tail and not the dog.
@Riz Palm OS is WebOS, not Android.
@Alco fail, read too fast sorry
People want them because they've got an air of exclusivity about them. Previously, 99% of people who owned them were given them by a company... which meant they were important(ish)... or atleast important enough to be given a phone. Thus the only people with them were generally higher status... and hence the jumping on the bandwagon by plebs all wanting to look like flash 'city' types.
As with all things driven by fashion, it'll come to an end and the consumer division will implode.
@cashclientel if you think blackberries are bought for fashion statements, then you are an idiot. Most blackberries are sold b/c 1. you can get them on literally every network and all networks offer just about the same models, 2. they may not have a ton of apps like some other phones, but all the apps they have are actually useful, which i'm sure not having gimmicky ones may turn some people off, 3. They have physical keyboards, which for someone like me who had a touch phone and hated it, having physical keyboads is a must and blackberries tend to have the best physical keyboards on phones. I don't realy see what is fashionable about blackberries unless you are going for that industrial/corporate look, but for someone who is 24 like myself, thats a pretty hard image to try and pass off
@acniehaus03
Upon re-reading my post may be incorrect for you. It was based upon my experience in the UK. Until about 18 months ago you didn't really get BBs on personal contracts, so the only people with them were corps. BBs became styled on this basis. They're only just becoming common for personal use.
It isn't really a 'fashion' statement I'd say, just people trying to inflate their own feeling of self importance.
This is completely OT, but can someone help me understand the Verizon BB data plans? My GF just bought a BB on Verizon but doesn't need the full unlimited data. However, it has *some* data -- her yahoo mail works; gmail used to work, but it broke and I've read the IMAP implementation is terrible. So I downloaded the GMail mobile 2.0 app, and can connect to her email just fine. But I'm afraid either the download or the mail access is incurring per MB charges. I've googled around a bunch, and forum posts indicate that Verizon has a contract with RIM that says that they CANNOT sell a BB without a BB data plan. But I'm having a hell of a time figuring out what a BB data plan includes and doesn't include. Her web browsing is blocked which is 'nice' -- I'm glad you can't accidentally rack up huge usage bills by web browsing when it's not part of the plan. But I can't figure out if they block *all* data usage that might incur usage fees, or just some.
Verizon's website so far has been pretty useless in terms of making it clear what data is included in the cheapo BB data plan, and what incurs extra fees.
thx.
@UnixSystemsEngineer
They block just some parts of the data access. Verizon has a tiered / pay as you go data plan which you can get instead of the BB Data plan (Which is just the BIS).
So, to answer your question, you probably will see some charge, but it won't be anything near the $30 per month you normally see.
Well, from an IT standpoint, Blackberries are maddening (B.E.S.); Exchange support is nothing more than a hack that barely works, and won't restore old email if you lose or break your phone.
From a personal perspective (B.I.S); There are two points of failure, first being the actual phone network, and two being the blackberry service itself, meaning these things have twice the probability of going offline.
Unreliable rubbish. The "trendy" stuff usually is....
@shnoogie
Ya, from an IT standpoint it really sucks to have all the devices in your company centrally managed -- you obviously have no idea what you're talking about...
P.S. You can backup a blackberry and restore messages with a couple of clicks. There's also message pre population to push the last couple hundred emails back to your device.
P.P.S. RIM is 25 years old this year and BlackBerry is 10 years old....how is that trendy?
@shnoogie
I've never had a problem from our BES Server, nor have I heard of many complaints (from actual IT personnel) either.
And those I did see/hear about have been either user error or poor implementation.
The Blackberry has really taken off in the UK amongst the youngsters and 20's group.
Alot of my friends have it purely for the BBM aspect and that novely of having a BB. It's the socialites choice of phone right now
Because T-Mobile offers a data-only plan for the BlackBerry for $40 a month w/300 SMS and 500 min. of Call Forwarding. I bought a Bold 9700. And it syncs nicely with my Mac!
If you don't need a voice plan it's really the cheapest way to go. Sure I'd love an iPod or Android phone, but not at $70+ per month! I just can't justify/afford that much per month when I make 2 - 3 minutes of calls per month. Voice calls are 45¢ per minute, so only a deal if you don't make calls. But I have calls forwarded to my work or home phone using the 500 min call forwarding bucket.
The way I see it (feel free to disagree with me) is all the people that think they are an elite group (bbm). now yes I have an iPhone, in fact I've had all three iPhone, however I did have a curve8900. And I found blackberry's os was super slow and retarded. To each their own, but seriously I hate people who think they are better or cooler than anyone because they have BBM.
iphone is for gimmick and BB is for business
Some basic math reveals they sell these phones on average for $62 a pop. 628 million in revenue divided by 10 million phones is 62.8. Now we know what they really go for.