NASDAQ:RIMM stock chart with volatility as at September 29, 2011

Demonstration of how Apple’s FaceTime works on iOS devices, which is now also supported with Mac computers. Source: CNet

Demonstration of Skype for BlackBerry, only available in the U.S. for Verizon customers. International users are not able to use the app to make VoIP calls or chat with Skype friends. Source: CrackBerry, via YouTube

Adobe engineer demonstrates how developers could use Adobe Air to create a single code base for applications that can be used to run the apps on multiple operating systems. Source: Adobe, via YouTube

RIM’s overhauled BlackBerry Bold 9900, includes capacitive display and keyboard. Source: RIM, via Bloomberg

The Ontario-based BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion LLC (RIM), continues to disappoint investors, as sales and free cash flow to equity significantly declined in the pervious fiscal quarter as a direct result of still not having released a competitive device more than a year after Apple launched its iPhone 4 – in fact, Apple will announce the next generation iPhone next Tuesday.

Investors largely blame top management for being too slow to innovate coupled with a corporate structure filled with intermediaries and lack of accountability that works counter-intuitively in facilitating efficient information flows, decision-making, and innovation.

Despite the significant downturn, the company holds over 2,000 patents, and is the market leader in providing enterprises with the most secure mobile communication and management infrastructure. However, competitors are now able to offer many of those core BlackBerry features in their own products with a better user experience and on a more cost-effective basis.

But, it isn’t too late for RIM just yet.

Here are some of the most important things RIM should consider to remain a going concern.

1. Take back control of your own platform:

Apple has been criticized for being notoriously controlling over what apps work on its iOS platform to the point where competitors have raised anti-trust concerns.

Although being too controlling might not be a good thing (and Apple isn’t as controlling today), at least it provides a very consistent user experience, but the same cannot be said about the BlackBerry user experience.

For example, the U.S. telecom Verizon reached an exclusive deal with Skype to make the Skype VoIP/chat app available exclusively only to Verizon BlackBerry customers. As a result, millions of other international Skype/BlackBerry users do not have practical access to Skype (even in Canada) because of the exclusive deal reached between Skype and Verizon in the U.S. – this would have never happened with any Apple product.
As another example, after you’ve restarted your BlackBerry, have you ever noticed new app installation icons (like mobile commerce app Zoom on Telus) on your menu? That’s courtesy of your carrier that has pushed the apps to your device after reaching a deal with the app makers, in the process re-arranging your menu configuration. Even if you delete the service books, after another restart, those apps re-appear. Could you opt out? No.

2. Focus on the user & innovate

One thing Apple really understands is consumer wants, and as a result, people are willing to camp out in front of stores to buy new Apple products.

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Demonstration of how Apple’s FaceTime works on iOS devices, which is now also supported with Mac computers. Source: CNet

A look at the current BlackBerry Messenger service. Source: RIM

RIM’s overhauled BlackBerry Bold 9900, includes capacitive display and keyboard. Source: RIM, via Bloomberg

The Ontario-based maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion Ltd, is working on a new communications platform that will include video chat capabilities directly from BlackBerry Messenger to compete with Apple’s FaceTime video chat service, according to a person familiar with the plans that spoke to us on condition of anonymity because the plans were not yet made public.

The platform will only support QNX-powered BlackBerry smartphones that will include a front-facing camera for video chat.

The delayed release of the first QNX BlackBerry smartphone is likely the result of compatibility issues with RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server platform.

The first QNX powered BlackBerry smartphone will be released near the end of the first quarter of 2012 and will include the new communications platform complete with a front-facing camera, according to the same source. It is unclear if current BlackBerry OS 7 powered devices would support the application with limited functionality.

The latest U.S. mobile subscriber market share data published by comScore puts RIM’s platform market share down at 23.4% in June 2011, compared to Google at 40.1% and Apple at 26.6%, respectively.

RIM’s dated portfolio of devices have pushed consumers to competing platforms that offer a super user experience with push email, which largely explains the decline in RIM’s stock price as well. Consumers and businesses alike have largely been loyal to the BlackBerry platform because of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).

Apple has announced iMessage, which largely offers the same functionality as BBM, complete with Delivered and Read receipts, for iOS 5 powered devices, which includes the iPad, the current iPhone 4 and the upcoming iPhone 5 that is expected to launch in mid October of this year.

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TORONTO — The Waterloo-based maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion Ltd (RIM), recently launched its first tablet computer, the BlackBerry PlayBook, over six months after the company first announced the product.

RIM has largely been criticized for releasing the BlackBerry PlayBook without key features when not paired with a BlackBerry smartphone, such as a native e-mail client, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) support, and native calendar support, among other key features that would be expected in a new high-end tablet.

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The Ontario-based maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion (RIM) Inc., today released a new conferencing application, BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing, exclusive to its BlackBerry platform that easily facilitates organizing conferences among a small group of people.

The application is aimed at small business BlackBerry users that could use the application to seamlessly schedule conference calls between participants with invites. The app could then automatically dial in participants, and re-connects dropped calls back to the conference through a sleek new notifications interface.

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The world’s largest carmaker, Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp (TMC), announced a new non-exclusive $12-million partnership with the world’s largest software vendor, Microsoft Corp, that will see telematics systems in upcoming Toyota hybrid vehicles powered by Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing platform.

From 2008 to 2009, global production of vehicles declined by 13.50-percent to almost 70-million cars manufactured in 2009, the biggest decline in over a decade, as demand fell amid the global financial crisis.

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Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, has made available its new Facebook application for BlackBerry devices, available now in beta to a limited number of people through BlackBerry Beta Zone.

The revamped application features a more intuitive user interface that is more consistent with the BlackBerry experience. For example, other system notifications outside of the Facebook app, like new e-mails or BBM notifications, now appear unobtrusively at the top of the system bar.

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The Waterloo, Ontario-based maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion (RIM), today announced a cloud-based data storage partnership with the world’s largest software vendor, Microsoft Corp.

RIM will use Microsoft servers and software to provide cloud-based storage solutions for clients, as more of them shift their data to the cloud.

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The Waterloo-based maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion (RIM) Inc., has confirmed a new partnership with the online media retailer 7digital Inc.

The strategic partnership aims to make RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook tablet more attractive to consumers by offering a seamless app for users to purchase digital media, including individual songs, albums, videos, among other content.

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The Waterloo-based maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion (RIM) Ltd, is working on adding functionality in its yet-to-be-released BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer that would give the new tablet the capability to run third party applications designed for Google Android devices.

RIM has seen market share trend downwards as consumers (and traditional corporate customers) have shifted to other mobile platforms that offer a superior user experience (like more applications and better Internet browsing) all with comparable communication features.

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The Waterloo-based maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, Research In Motion (RIM), has announced the company plans to offer new cloud-based services.

The company is in the process of expanding the capabilities of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) to offer a cloud-based version, and to allow partners to offer their own customized BES services.

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