Thursday, November 24, 2005

Thurs - RIM reduces outlook for new subscribers

RIM announced yesterday that it would have to reduce its outlook for new subscribers because of delays in shipping 2 new devices, the new BlackBerry 8700 and 7130. This sent their share price down.

RIM seems to be stumbling this year. As well as being challenged on meeting their aggressive growth numbers, they also face a potentially expensive patent dispute that just won't go away.

It does though look to me that even though in the short term Blackberry continues to do ok, they have just surpassed 4M users, they are perhaps starting to feel the pressures of an increasingly competitive market. After all, with 3G technology becoming increasingly pervasive and Wi-Fi hotspots popping up everywhere, they will get increasingly squeezed by mobile phone companies on one side and wireless laptops on the other.

And with competition from the likes of Nokia, Microsoft, Motorola and a potentially stronger Palm, I think that Blackberry's glory days may be waning. As mobile phones get better and better at doing wireless email, can Blackberry really survive the onslaught from the all powerful handset manufacturers? I'm not so sure. But then, that's just me.

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