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Former RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie's very different rescue plan revealed
Sources close to former RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie have revealed his plans to save the company before he was shown the door, a plan that didn't involve handsets. He'd entered into talks with AT&T, Verizon and several European carriers to offer them use of the company's BlackBerry-exclusive network to provide limited data plans to featurephone users that included social networking and BBM -- with the aim of reducing the cellphone operators data burden and coaxing users to upgrade to smartphones. The company was working on Mobile Fusion; software that allowed enterprise and government users on iOS and Android devices to join RIM's system, which reportedly earns the company $1 billion per quarter. However, while talks progressed, company execs grew nervous and ousted him in favor of Thorsten Heins with a mandate to focus on BB10 and new devices rather than turning RIM into a service company. However, given that it's still losing money on its handset business, Heins has reopened the door to Balsillie's plan. It's just a shame Balsillie himself is keeping quiet, as we'd love to hear his thoughts in an executive-level edition of How Would you Change.
RIM sticking with consumer goods, just 'refocusing' on enterprise
Some people got the wrong idea yesterday when RIM's new CEO Thorsten Heins said the company was refocusing on the enterprise market and would stop trying to be "all things to all people." Many took the post-earnings call comment to mean that RIM would be exiting the consumer market, an assumption that didn't seem like much of a stretch considering its failure to capture the imagination of users outside the office place. Things weren't made any better when Heins seemingly left the door open for the manufacturer to leave the hardware business entirely. However, in a statement, managing director of global sales and regional marketing Patrick Spence clarified that "the claim that RIM has said it will withdraw from the consumer market is wholly misleading." He continued to explain that, "whilst we announced plans to refocus our efforts on our core strengths, and on our enterprise customer base, we were very explicit that we will continue to build on our strengths to go after targeted consumer segments." In particular there still seems to be hope that BBM can become a staple in the lives of young trend setters, but it'll probably need some help from cross platform clients to do so.Update: Just in case there was any doubt RIM has posted a clarification on its blog saying in no uncertain terms that the consumer market is still a target. "To be really clear, we are fully committed to the consumer market," there really isn't any way to misconstrue that. Hit up the more coverage link to read the whole post.
RIM announces Q4 2012 earnings, Jim Balsillie resigns from board, company plans to refocus on enterprise
We've already seen a bit of big news slip out ahead of RIM's earnings announcement, and the company's now dropped another bombshell itself. Former co-CEO Jim Balsillie has resigned from his position on the company's board of directors. In a statement, Balsillie said simply: "As I complete my retirement from RIM, I'm grateful for this remarkable experience and for the opportunity to have worked with outstanding professionals who helped turn a Canadian idea into a global success." RIM also confirmed that CTO David Yach would be retiring as well, and that COO Jim Rowan has "decided to pursue other interests," but it hasn't offered any indication of a broader shakeup beyond those three departures. As for the fourth quarter earnings, RIM is reporting revenue of $4.2 billion, down 19 percent from the third quarter, and a GAAP net loss of $125 million. Total BlackBerry shipments for the quarter dipped 21 percent to 11.1 million units, while PlayBook shipments totaled 500,000, which is actually a new high water mark for the tablet (1.3 million were shipped during the fiscal year). This is also notably the company's first quarterly earnings under the leadership of new CEO Thorsten Heins, who admits that the RIM faces some "significant" business challenges over the "next several quarters," and says that he's "taking the necessary steps to address them." That includes "increased management accountability and process discipline," as well as what he describes as a "comprehensive review of strategic opportunities including partnerships and joint ventures, licensing, and other ways to leverage RIM's assets and maximize value for our stakeholders." On the company's earnings call, Heins further added that he intends to refocus on the company's enterprise business, and not try to be "all things to all people." He went on to offer an even more frank assessment of RIM's current state than he had earlier, stating that these are "difficult times" and that there's "no guarantee of success," while also adding that he's open to exploring "all opportunities." That includes the possibility of licensing BB10 which, incidentally, will apparently address the company's current LTE deficit "later this year." Asked on the call whether he would consider getting out of the hardware business altogether, Heins says that he prefers an "integrated" approach, but left the door open a little to that being done through partnerships instead of completely in-house -- he also repeatedly noted that he wants RIM devices to be high-end, "aspirational" products. In short: the company's focus now is on BB10 and enterprise, but it's seemingly leaving just about everything on the table.
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins reportedly 'clearing house,' laying off numerous executives
With BlackBerry World only weeks away and RIM's earnings report merely hours away, it looks as if newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins will be leading it with quite the bang. While Heins has done a truly exceptional job of laying low (really low) during his first few months in the corner office, he's evidently been hard at work rearranging chairs... mentally, at least. According to The Globe and Mail's Iain Marlow, a trusted source has informed him that the BlackBerry maker's head honcho has begun "clearing house," with senior vice presidents and VP-level executives being informed of the imminent changes today. We're tracking down more on the story right now and will update this post as details flow.Update: The report is up in full, with an unnamed source explaining: "Lots of high level people within RIM were let go today. Quite a few. Big shake up." We're still awaiting official word, which is apt to be found buried deep within the eventual earnings release.
Shocker! New RIM CEO targets existing BlackBerry users for upgrades
All of new RIM CEO Thorsten Heins' fresh ideas will apparently still be revealed to the company's board in a couple of weeks, but he's already dropped some gems in interviews with the Wall Street Journal and Reuters (update: and Bloomberg). First item on the agenda? Getting current users upgraded to the latest and greatest BlackBerry hardware. Citing internal statistics that indicate 80- to 90- percent of the company's customer base aren't running BlackBerry 7 hardware yet, it will work closely with US carriers to promote upgrades until the new BB10 devices hit later this year. There's no word on what the carrier deals include, but he hinted at device or preloaded app bundles. He also promised an LTE version of the PlayBook would arrive this spring, with LTE connected handsets also planned for the BlackBerry 10 lineup. Is that enough to turn around RIM's fortunes in the US, where he acknowledged the company is "a turnaround candidate"? We'll find out, but as obvious as the need to placate the already BBM-addicted may be, execution of the plan is everything.
Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani
Distro is 25... weeks old, today! And to celebrate we're debuting a new page that puts you, our readers, front and center. We've been sending out questions over various social networking channels and collecting your answers for the inaugural run of Snap Analysis. Among other things, you weighed in on RIM's CEO switch up, as did our own Darren Murph in his editorial, "RIM's New CEO Isn't the Shakeup It Needed." We have more editorializing coming your way from the desk of Donald Melanson, who's taking the Ultrabook marketing hype to task. Also in this issue, we test drive the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 and review the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 and Huawei's Honor. Lifehacker's Gina Trapani takes on the Distro Q&A, IRL goes back to CES and Ross Rubin explores Apple's education push. There's a lot to soak up in this issue, so hit the appropriate link below and get to reading!
RIM stock falls eight percent following CEO transition
We rarely meddle with stock news around these parts, but this was a pretty significant piece of meat to chew on. After Research in Motion introduced Thorsten Heins as the new CEO last night and again in a conference call this morning, the company's stock price tumbled a whopping 8.47 percent. When it comes to what kind of difference the transition will make for the struggling company, we haven't had a high amount of confidence; while we hope for the best and want to see RIM turn things around, the falling stock appears to indicate that we're not alone in expressing concerns about this morning's events. Here's some food for thought: when rumors that Samsung was interested in purchasing RIM flooded the internet, the latter company's stocks spiked by nearly ten percent.
RIM's Thorsten Heins formally introduced: liveblogging the media call
If you missed it, RIM attempted to interrupt the Giants vs. 49ers matchup last night by dropping a wee bit of news: it's co-CEOs are gone, and taking the solo CEO badge is former COO Thorsten Heins. The new head honcho will be formally introduced in a media call slated to begin at 8:00AM ET on January 23rd, 2012, and we'll be liveblogging every moment of it for those who can't tune in. We've already learned a fair amount about the gentleman's plans courtesy of an introductory video, but we'll be listening in for any hints as to future QNX plans, PlayBook ambitions or BlackBerry wizardry. Join us after the break for the play-by-play! January 23, 2012 8:00 AM EST
Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed
For a brief moment, I had hopes that RIM had made a move that would unseat it from the funk it's been sitting in for years. And then I watched the introductory video of newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins. Anyone who assumes that a simple CEO swap is the answer to all of RIM's issues is woefully misinformed, or worse, just blinded by false hope. Sure, removing Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis -- both of which have been rightly criticized for not responding to market pressures quickly enough -- is a start, but it's not like they're gone. In fact, the two are still situated at a pretty fancy table within Research in Motion's organizational chart. RIM, we've been here before RIM seems to be as lost as my BlackBerry Dear RIM, I'm your customer and I don't wear a suitHave a listen at this: Mike is hanging around as the Vice Chair of RIM's Board and Chair of the Board's new Innovation Committee. You heard right -- the guy who has outrightly failed to innovate at anything in the past handful of years is now championing an innovation committee. Sounds right up his alley, no? Jim's staying put as an outright director, and if you think anyone at RIM is going to brush aside the input of the founders, you're wrong. Jim and Mike may have new titles, but they're still here, and I have no reason to believe that they'll act radically different going forward than they have in the past. Oh, and about Thorsten Heins? Let's go there.
RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10
After months upon months of investor backlash, RIM's making some significant changes. And by "significant," we mean the co-chief executives (and founders) are out. As of tomorrow, both Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis will be stepping away from the top posts, enabling "a little-known company insider" to take over, according to The Wall Street Journal. Purportedly, this is all part of "a board and management shuffle," with COO Thorsten Heins (seen above) to step into what many expect to be an impossible role to thrive in. The Globe and Mail asserts that he'll be immediately seeking a Chief Marketing Officer to polish up the company's severely damaged brand, and he "will not rule out licensing RIM's new BlackBerry 10 operating system to other handset manufacturers." In an interview with the outlet, he stated that he'll be executing "flawlessly" and with vigor -- not unexpected, but still, bold words.Startlingly, Heins also asserted that he's "confident" in the existing lineup of BlackBerry handsets and the software update recently made available for the PlayBook; call us crazy, but he'd be wise to just spout out reality and make clear that RIM's existing lineup is nowhere near competitive in the grand scheme of things. As for Mike and Jim? The former will become "vice-chair of the board with special duties to examine innovation," with the latter becoming a traditional director. In an interesting move, outgoing co-CEO Lazaridis stated the following: "I think it's that unwillingness to sacrifice our long-term value for short-term gain. That's why we didn't choose Android. That's why we decided to build the future on QNX." So wait, RIM had the chance to choose Android... and didn't? No time like the present to reach back and shake things up, Mr. Heins.Update: Catch an introduction video to the new CEO just after the break!
