Jumat, 30 Maret 2012

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

RIM Q4 Earnings Call Q&A Highlights: Word of the day = Partnerships

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 03:38 PM PDT

 

Well the earnings call just ended and I have to say that Mr. Heins seems very very focused and knows what he wants.  What does Mr. Heins want?  Partnerships.  Over half  Q&A was talking about Partnerships.  It seems very very likely that we will be seeing BB10 on superphones made by another manufacturer…. like Samsung.

Here are some highlights:

  • Will not give up control of hardware;  however, that doesn’t mean they need to make it themselves, it could mean they give another company spec benchmarks and that company makes the phone
  • Heins seems very in favour of partnerships to push BB10
  • RIM will not be sold, its not on the table (para phrased)
  • Stronger investment in enterprise
  • They want Blackberry to be the next Apple basically, they want people to lust for a Blackberry
  • Heins impression of RIM  at day 2 of being CEO is very different than his position 10 weeks in today, partnerships focus is evidence of that change
  • Heins says he has a clear focus on the next 1-2 years of rim
  • Heins feels that with BB10 RIM can grown into new consumer markets (CARS!!!)

Overall Heins said all the write things and then some.  RIM is going to be a very lean, mean fighting machine and he wants to make it more enjoyable to work at RIM (Ice Cream Lunches?)

He noted in his opening speech that the structure of the company is changing to allow, among other things, the talented people in the company to bring out positive change themselves and to foster innovative ideas within the company.

In the end though, it all comes down to execution and I for one have faith in Thor

 

*** Upon further thought, I wanted to ad that these Partnerships that Mr. Heins is looking for, could also take the form of software partnerships ala Amazon taking over the Music/Movie stores *****

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Posted by BBA Brian for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 6:38 pm. | RIM Q4 Earnings Call Q&A Highlights: Word of the day = Partnerships | Leave a comment |


Over 1 Million BlackBerry PlayBook Users – BlackBerry 10 Carrier Acceptance Starts in Summer

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 02:41 PM PDT

PlayBook-deconstructed

Thorsten Heins confirmed on the call today that there are now over 1 million BlackBerry PlayBook owners out there. RIM says they have shipped another half a million PlayBooks in the last quarter. That sets the record straight on that for now. It is also pretty impressive if you think about that compared to how many app sales the PlayBook drives.

Another interesting update by Thorsten is that BlackBerry 10 devices are still scheduled for later this year. On top of that the BlackBerry 10 devices are scheduled to go the carrier acceptance this summer. Thorsten also said that he has seen the latest BlackBerry 10 builds and he was very impressed with what the engineers have done since he started.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 5:41 pm. | Over 1 Million BlackBerry PlayBook Users – BlackBerry 10 Carrier Acceptance Starts in Summer | Leave a comment |


Former Co-CEO Jim Balsillie Resigns & CTO David Yach Retiring

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 02:27 PM PDT

rim_logo_blue

It looks like RIM's is shaking up upper management. Former Co-CEO Jim Balsillie has left RIM's board. Also David Yach is retiring as CTO after 13 years. Jim Rowan, COO of Global Operations at RIM, has decided to pursue other interests and RIM is searching to hire a single COO to replace both Thorsten and Jim Rowan.

Thorsten is talking now about how RIM is working on reducing complexity in the organization. (Finally!) They are also adding an increased focus on accountability that crippled certain organizations from innovating. (Hopefully RIM legal gets the message) Finally RIM is planning on letting the employees drive growth. RIM is also interviewing many possible CMOs for managing their marketing efforts with a decision hopefully coming shortly.

Also of interest is Thorsten mentioned that Dan Dodge, CEO of QNX, is driving BlackBerry 10 development and growth in the company. I wonder if Thorsten will make him the CTO.

Developing…

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 5:27 pm. | Former Co-CEO Jim Balsillie Resigns & CTO David Yach Retiring | One comment |


RIM Announces Q4 Fiscal 2012 Financials (Press Release)

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 01:54 PM PDT

Press ReleaseResearch In Motion Reports Year-End and Fourth Quarter Results for Fiscal 2012

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – March 29, 2012) – Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today reported fourth quarter results for the three months and fiscal year ended March 3, 2012 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP, except where otherwise indicated).

Highlights:

  • $2.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments at the end of the quarter, which increased by approximately $610 million in the quarter
  • Cash flow from operations of approximately $1.1 billion, up from approximately $900 million in Q3
  • Revenue of $4.2 billion, down 19% from the third quarter
  • GAAP net loss in Q4 of $125 million or $0.24 per share diluted; adjusted net income of $418 million or $0.80 per share diluted
  • BlackBerry smartphone shipments of 11.1 million in Q4, down 21% from Q3
  • RIM to discontinue providing specific quantitative guidance
  • RIM provides update on organizational changes

Q4 Results:

Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 was $4.2 billion, down 19% from $5.2 billion in the previous quarter and down 25% from $5.6 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2011. The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 68% for hardware, 27% for service and 5% for software and other revenue. During the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 11.1 million BlackBerry smartphones and over 500,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

“I have assessed many aspects of RIM’s business during my first 10 weeks as CEO. I have confirmed that the Company has substantial strengths that can be further leveraged to improve our financial performance, including RIM’s global network infrastructure, a strong enterprise offering and a large and growing base of more than 77 million subscribers. I’m very excited about the prospects for the BlackBerry 10 platform, which is on track for the latter part of calendar 2012. Notwithstanding these strengths and opportunities, the business challenges we face over the next several quarters are significant and I am taking the necessary steps to address them,” said Thorsten Heins, President & CEO of Research In Motion. “In addition to delivering the BlackBerry 10 platform and refocusing resources on RIM’s key opportunities, such as BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and new integrated service offerings, we will also drive greater operational performance through a variety of initiatives including increased management accountability and process discipline. In parallel, we are undertaking 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.”

The Company’s GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 was $125 million, or $0.24 per share diluted, compared with GAAP net income of $265 million, or $0.51 per share diluted, in the prior quarter and GAAP net income of $934 million, or $1.78 per share diluted, in the same quarter of fiscal 2011. Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter was $418 million, or $0.80 per share diluted. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter exclude the impact of pre-tax charges of $355 million which are predominantly non-cash ($346 million after tax) for the impairment of goodwill and $267 million ($197 million after-tax) for an inventory provision taken primarily on certain BlackBerry7 products. These charges and their related impacts on GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share are summarized in the tables below.

Reconciliation of GAAP gross margin, gross margin percentage, net income and diluted EPS to adjusted gross margin, gross margin percentage, net income and diluted EPS:

(United States dollars, in millions except per share data)
For the quarter ended March 3, 2012
Gross Margin(1) (before taxes) Gross Margin %(1)(before taxes) Net Income or (Loss) Diluted EPS
As reported $ 1,401 33.4 % $ (125 ) (0.24 )

Adjustments:
Impairment of Goodwill(2) – - 346 0.66
Inventory Provision(3) 267 6.4 % 197 0.38

Adjusted $ 1,668 39.8 % $ 418 $ 0.80
Note: Adjusted gross margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and thus are not comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other issuers. The Company believes that the presentation of adjusted gross margin, adjusted gross margin percentage, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share enables the Company and its shareholders to better assess RIM’s operating results relative to its operating results in prior periods and improves the comparability of the information presented. Investors should consider these non-GAAP measures in the context of RIM’s GAAP results.
(1) During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company reported GAAP gross margin of $1.4 billion or 33.4% of revenue. Excluding the impact of charges primarily related to inventory valuation of certain BlackBerry 7 products, the adjusted gross margin was $1.7 billion, or 39.8% of revenue.
(2) Subsequent to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company performed a goodwill impairment test and based on the results of that test, the Company recorded a non-cash pre-tax goodwill impairment charge of $355 million, $346 million after tax.
(3) During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company recorded a pre-tax provision of approximately $267 million, $197 million after tax, which was mostly non-cash, primarily related to its inventory valuation of certain BlackBerry 7 products.

The total of cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments was $2.1 billion as of March 3, 2012, compared to $1.5 billion at the end of the previous quarter, an increase of approximately $610 million from the prior quarter. Cash flow from operations in Q4 was approximately $1.1 billion, up from $900 million in Q3. Uses of cash included intangible asset additions of approximately $260 million and capital expenditures of approximately $190 million.

Fiscal 2012 Results

Revenue for the fiscal year ended March 3, 2012 was $18.4 billion, down 7% from $19.9 billion in fiscal 2011. The Company’s GAAP net income for fiscal 2012 was $1.2 billion, or $2.22 per share diluted, compared with GAAP net income of $3.4 billion, or $6.34 per share diluted in fiscal 2011. Adjusted net income for fiscal 2012 was $2.2 billion, or $4.20 per share diluted. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2012 exclude the adjustments described above as well as the impact of pre-tax charges of $54 million ($40 million after tax) to revenue related to the service interruption experienced in the third quarter, $485 million ($356 million after tax) for the PlayBook inventory provision taken in the third quarter and $125 million ($96 million after tax) for the Company’s cost optimization program that was implemented in the second quarter of fiscal 2012. These charges and their related impacts on GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share are summarized in the tables below.

Reconciliation of GAAP revenue, gross margin, gross margin percentage, net income and diluted EPS to adjusted revenue, gross margin, gross margin percentage, net income, and diluted EPS:

(United States dollars, in millions except per share data)
For the year ended March 3, 2012
Revenue (before taxes) Gross Margin(1) (before taxes) Gross Margin%(1) (before taxes) Net Income Diluted EPS
As reported $ 18,435 $ 6,579 35.7 % $ 1,164 $ 2.22

Adjustments:
PlayBook Inventory Provision(2) – 485 2.6 % 356 0.68
Cost Optimization Program(3) – 14 – 96 0.18
Q3 Service Interruption(4) 54 54 0.3 % 40 0.08
Impairment of Goodwill(5) – - – 346 0.66
Inventory Provision(6) 19 267 1.4 % 197 0.38

Adjusted $ 18,508 $ 7,399 40.0 % $ 2,199 $ 4.20
Note: Adjusted revenue, adjusted gross margin, adjusted gross margin percentage, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and thus are not comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other issuers. The Company believes that the presentation of adjusted revenue, adjusted gross margin, adjusted gross margin percentage, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share enables the Company and its shareholders to better assess RIM’s operating results relative to its operating results in prior periods and improves the comparability of the information presented. Investors should consider these non-GAAP measures in the context of RIM’s GAAP results.
(1) During fiscal 2012, the Company reported GAAP gross margin of $6.6 billion, or 35.7% of revenue. Excluding the impact of charges related to the PlayBook Inventory Provision, the Cost Optimization Program, the Q3 Service Interruption and the Inventory Provision, the adjusted gross margin was $7.4 billion, or 40.0% of revenue.
(2) During fiscal 2012, the Company recorded a pre-tax provision of approximately $485 million, $356 million after tax, related to its inventory valuation of BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. The charge was predominantly non-cash.
(3) Cost of sales, research and development, and selling, marketing and administration expenses in fiscal 2012 included approximately $11 million, $18 million, and $67 million, respectively, in after-tax charges related to the cost optimization program to streamline operations across the Company.
(4) During fiscal 2012, the Company experienced a service interruption which resulted in the loss of service revenue and the payment of service credits totally approximately $54 million, approximately $40 million after tax, related to the interruption in the availability of the Company’s network.
(5) Subsequent to fiscal 2012, the Company performed a goodwill impairment test and based on the results of that test, the Company recorded a non-cash pre-tax goodwill impairment charge of approximately $355 million, approximately $346 after tax.
(6) In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company recorded a pre-tax provision of approximately $267 million, $197 million after tax, which was mostly non-cash, primarily related to its inventory valuation of certain BlackBerry 7 products.

Change to Guidance Practices and Outlook:

The company expects continued pressure on revenue and earnings throughout fiscal 2013. Due to a desire to focus on long term value creation and the current business environment, RIM will no longer provide specific quantitative guidance. Some of the factors contributing to this include, ongoing weakness in the Company’s U.S. smartphone business, an increased focus on selling BlackBerry 7 smartphones to grow the subscriber base in advance of the BlackBerry 10 launch, increasing competitive pressure in the Company’s international markets and the introduction of certain new lower tier service pricing initiatives and a higher mix of sales coming from entry level products.

Organizational and Board of Directors Update:

Jim Balsillie, former Co-CEO of the Company, has resigned as a Director on the Company’s Board.

“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,” said Jim Balsillie.

“On behalf of the Board and everyone at RIM, I would like to thank Jim for his 20 years of service to RIM,” said Barb Stymiest, Chair of RIM’s Board of Directors. “His energy, drive and enthusiasm helped build one of the most successful technology companies of our time.”

In addition, David Yach will be retiring from his role as CTO, Software after 13 years with the Company and after 4 years with the company and following an open dialogue on the future of global operations, Jim Rowan, COO, Global Operations, has decided to pursue other interests. The Company is currently undertaking a search to hire a single COO with responsibilities to run the Company’s operations.

“RIM would like to thank David Yach and Jim Rowan for their years of service and many contributions to RIM,” said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO. “We wish them well in their future pursuits.”

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Posted by BBA Brian for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 4:54 pm. | RIM Announces Q4 Fiscal 2012 Financials (Press Release) | Leave a comment |


Twitter for BlackBerry Gets Minor Bug Fix to v3.0.0.19 in Beta Zone

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 01:47 PM PDT

Twitter BlackBerry

RIM has pushed out a tiny update to Twitter for BlackBerry in the Beta Zone. It brings us to v3.0.0.19. This one is mainly a bug fix with one main bug to squash. Namely:

Stuck on loading when you first enter the app and scroll directly to the bottom

You can pick it up in the Beta Zone here

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 4:47 pm. | Twitter for BlackBerry Gets Minor Bug Fix to v3.0.0.19 in Beta Zone | Leave a comment |


RIM continues to shed excess weight – Reports indicate High level execs given the axe

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 01:39 PM PDT

News has already started to trickle out and its looking like RIM is about to shake things up.  News out of the Globe and Mail suggests that many VP’s and SVP’s have been given pink slips today.  Globe and Mail suggest the cuts are focused on Sales and Marketing which is very very interesting news as this is clearly one of RIM’s weak points.

Earnings call in 30 minutes at 5:00 est

 

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Posted by BBA Brian for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 4:39 pm. | RIM continues to shed excess weight – Reports indicate High level execs given the axe | Leave a comment |


Free Run In Crowd Multiplayer Run & Jump Game for the PlayBook

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 12:14 PM PDT

Run in Crowd Run in Crowd2

Ursine Paw released a very slick game called Run In Crowd a bit back that has an interesting take on multiplayer. It is one of those run and jump games where you run and tap to jump over obstacles. The coolest part is that you can run against other players to compete. The game is totally free but you can purchase outfits or customized characters for $0.99. The levels are dynamically generated and you can view the top 15 high scorers here.

Check out Run In Crowd free in App World

kudos to Jon @PocketBerry for spotting the game!

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 3:14 pm. | Free Run In Crowd Multiplayer Run & Jump Game for the PlayBook | One comment |


RIM’s Q4 Fiscal 2012 Earnings Call Today at 5:00 PM ET

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:25 AM PDT

Thorsten Heins RIM

RIM is reporting their Q4 Fiscal 2012 results today during their earnings call at 5PM EST. Analysts are not expecting to hear great news but really all of this is sort of moot until RIM gets BlackBerry 10 phones out the door. I am hoping RIM's new CEO, Thorsten Heins, has finally found a solid Chief Marketing Officer since they need one badly. We will keep you up to date on what RIM announces or you can listen in to the earnings call yourself here.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 1:25 pm. | RIM’s Q4 Fiscal 2012 Earnings Call Today at 5:00 PM ET | 3 comments |


Gameloft Releases FREE GT Racing Motor Academy Game for PlayBook!

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:02 AM PDT

Gameloft is at it again with their PlayBook gaming goodness. They have released another quality racing game called GT Racing Motor Academy and it is available for free. I’m not sure why Gameloft continues to offer such high quality games for free, but I am not complaining! It differs from Asphalt 6 in that it is more technical and more realistic. There are also more options when it comes to controls and gameplay. You can control the amount of brake assist and whether or not optimal drive lines show up to guide you through the hairpin turns and shave milliseconds off your best lap times.

Go grab GT Racing Motor Academy at App World for your PlayBook!

 

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Posted by jforce for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 1:02 pm. | Gameloft Releases FREE GT Racing Motor Academy Game for PlayBook! | 4 comments |


RIM’s Tim Neil Talks About His BatBerry HTML5 Project

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:47 AM PDT

BatBerry

Paul Leroux on the QNX Blog interviewed Tim Neil, RIM's director of Product Management, on his BatBerry project that he has been working on for awhile now. The BatBerry is a melding of Tim's love of cars, Batman, and technology. Tim used to also be the development manager for BlackBerry WebWorks at RIM which is why he used WebWorks on the smartphone and PlayBook to control the car through an Arduino board.

Check out the details here or find more at Tim's BatBerry Blog.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 11:47 am. | RIM’s Tim Neil Talks About His BatBerry HTML5 Project | Leave a comment |


RIM Posts BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Intro Video

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:54 AM PDT

Mobile Fusion

RIM has launched BlackBerry Mobile Fusion to manage BlackBerry PlayBooks and smartphones in one place. Users are still waiting for the Universal Device Service component which will allow enterprises to also manage iOS and Android devices from the same console. Peter from BBNews.pl noticed that RIM has released a new intro video to BlackBerry Mobile Fusion that dips RIM's toe into how they are promoting this next generation of BES. Check it out below or more info on Mobile Fusion here.


Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 10:54 am. | RIM Posts BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Intro Video | Leave a comment |


RIM Explains Why Devs Should Go to BlackBerry 10 Jam vs BlackBerry World

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:36 AM PDT

PlayBook-deconstructed

There has been a bit of confusion for BlackBerry developers as to whether they should attend BlackBerry World or BlackBerry 10 Jam. We have heard a few clarifications but Victoria from RIM did the best job yet explaining the difference on the RIM DevBlog. Essentially enterprise app developers will have a track at BlackBerry World which will not be covered at BlackBerry Jam 10 specifically. On the other hand BlackBerry 10 Jam is for developers to get the latest on BlackBerry 10 tailored for all types of developers but not specifically enterprise development. You also get a BlackBerry 10 alpha dev device at the BlackBerry 10 Jam conference.

Here is how they broke it down:

BlackBerry World (May 1-3) is the ideal conference for learning about the BlackBerry® Solution and connecting with enterprises, wireless carriers, ISVs and industry watchers. BlackBerry World brings together the biggest gathering of the BlackBerry ecosystem to hear the latest on BlackBerry. For developers, there will be dedicated sessions on enterprise app development that focus on the strengths of the BlackBerry platform for building enterprise applications, as well as how businesses can benefit from applications.

BlackBerry 10 Jam (May 1-3) is an opportunity for developers to be the first to get information on the BlackBerry 10 platform. There will be hands-on labs, panels, discussions and time with platform experts. The sessions and labs will be tailored for developers at various levels of expertise. There will not be a track dedicated to enterprise development at BlackBerry 10 Jam.

If you are an enterprise developer specifically looking for more information on building successful enterprise applications, as well as connecting to enterprises with BlackBerry implementations, BlackBerry World might be a better fit. If you are looking for more information on BlackBerry 10 tools and the opportunities of building for BlackBerry 10, then BlackBerry 10 Jam is the show for you.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 10:36 am. | RIM Explains Why Devs Should Go to BlackBerry 10 Jam vs BlackBerry World | 2 comments |


Cut the Thread Game Mimics “Cut the Rope” Gameplay for BlackBerry Smartphones

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:45 AM PDT

 Cut the Thread Cut the Thread2

Please see the original post here. A glitch in our system caused a duplicate post

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 9:45 am. | Cut the Thread Game Mimics “Cut the Rope” Gameplay for BlackBerry Smartphones | 2 comments |


PlayBook Dev Team Now Working on Refining the PlayBook Browser

Posted: 29 Mar 2012 05:39 AM PDT

playbook_01

We know that RIM was pushing hard to deliver a solid browser in PlayBook OS 2.0 that blew past the competition in speed and standards compliance. Now we have started noticing that RIM is making some big steps into integrating and improving that browser. I have been hearing from sources at RIM that the browser team is already working on adding features to the browser now that they have met their performance goals. (PIM apps are also improving!)

The nice part is that we have seen a couple of public confirmations of this too. Michael Clewley, the Senior Product Manager for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, has confirmed when asked during a community event for a password manager and bookmarks editing that:

In OS 2.0 the team spent a lot of their time focusing on the best in class web performance experience.   It’s a top mobile and tablet browser on html5test.com! They’ve now turned their attention to also improving the browser chrome for better manageability experiences.

On top of that RIM has started seriously contributing their WebKit fork back upstream to the WebKit source. You can see it in their daily changelog along with recent posts on the WebKit blog. Either way I am simply waiting for an ad blocker and password manager for the PlayBook browser. :)

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, March 29, 2012, 8:39 am. | PlayBook Dev Team Now Working on Refining the PlayBook Browser | 11 comments |


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