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Jim Balsillie

Why Saving The BlackBerry And Saving RIM Aren’t Necessarily The Same Thing

April 16, 2012 by Robb Dunewood 6 Comments

I am often asked the question, “What can RIM do to get the BlackBerry back on top?”

To be totally honest , I don’t know that there is anything, realistically speaking, that RIM could do to regain the crown of top smartphone in the foreseeable future.

As a matter of fact, a potential bright future for Research in Motion could be one where the BlackBerry doesn’t even play a significant role in getting things turned around.

A lot of people, many industry analysts included, believe that Research in Motion exists as a company because of the BlackBerry.  What actually is true is that Research in Motion is the company that manufactures the BlackBerry and does a list of other things that generate tremendous revenue for the company with far greater margins.

[Read more…] about Why Saving The BlackBerry And Saving RIM Aren’t Necessarily The Same Thing

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: BlackBerry 10, Jim Balsillie, RIM Board, RIM Network Services

Jim Balsille Resigned From RIM’s Board Because Of Strategy Differences

April 16, 2012 by Robb Dunewood 2 Comments

It’ been just over a couple of weeks since former Research in Motion Co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, resigned from the board.  Although rumors have floated around as to why he stepped down, it hasn’t been completely clear until now.

According to a report by Reuters, Balsille “sought to reinvent the BlackBerry smartphone maker with a radical shift in strategy” that apparently didn’t go over all that well with other board members.

“The plan would have let the carriers use the RIM network to offer inexpensive data plans, limited to social media and instant messaging, to entice low-tier customers to upgrade from no-frills phones to smartphones.”

[Read more…] about Jim Balsille Resigned From RIM’s Board Because Of Strategy Differences

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: BlackBerry 10, Jim Balsillie, RIM Board

Press Release: Research In Motion Names Thorsten Heins President and CEO

January 22, 2012 by Robb Dunewood Leave a Comment

Waterloo, ON – The Board of Directors of BlackBerry® maker Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that, acting on the recommendation of its Co-Chief Executive Officers to implement the succession plan they previously submitted to the Board, it has unanimously named Thorsten Heins as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Heins was also appointed to RIM’s Board. The Board acted after conducting its own due diligence. Both appointments are effective immediately.

Mike Lazaridis, former Co-Chair and Co-CEO, has become Vice Chair of RIM’s Board and Chair of the Board’s new Innovation Committee. As Vice Chair, he will work closely with Mr. Heins to offer strategic counsel, provide a smooth transition and continue to promote the BlackBerry brand worldwide.

Mr. Heins said he looks forward to continuing to work with Mr. Lazaridis, globally recognized as a technology pioneer. He said, “Mike created a whole new way of communicating and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration.”

On the transition to CEO by Mr. Heins, Mr. Lazaridis said, “There comes a time in the growth of every successful company when the founders recognize the need to pass the baton to new leadership. Jim and I went to the Board and told them that we thought that time was now.  With BlackBerry 7 now out, PlayBook 2.0 shipping in February and BlackBerry 10 expected to ship later this year, the company is entering a new phase, and we felt it was time for a new leader to take it through that phase and beyond.  Jim, the Board and I all agreed that leader should be Thorsten Heins.”

[Read more…] about Press Release: Research In Motion Names Thorsten Heins President and CEO

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: Jim Balsillie, Mike Lazaridis, RIM, RIM CEO, Thorsten Heins

Research in Motion board looking to replace Lazaridis and Balsillie with new Chairman of the Board: Sources say

January 3, 2012 by Robb Dunewood 4 Comments

According to a  report in the Financial Times, Research in Motion’s board is preparing to oust co-chairs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie due to intense pressure from shareholders who watched RIM’s stock price drop over 75% in 2011.  Independent director Barbara Stymiest is rumored to be the front runner to replace Lazaridis and Balsillie who will remain co-CEOs of the company.

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: Jim Balsillie, Mike Lazaridis, RIM Board

RIM Co-CEO makes bold claims regarding the upcoming QNX based BlackBerry OS

October 17, 2011 by Robb Dunewood 3 Comments

BlackBerry DevCon 2011 kicks of tomorrow and it is expected the Research in Motion will officially unveil BBX, the QNX based next-generation BlackBerry operating system that Research in Motion’s future hinges on.  RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie made a bold statement regarding BBX claiming that RIM has “leapfrogged” the competition…

[Read more…] about RIM Co-CEO makes bold claims regarding the upcoming QNX based BlackBerry OS

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: BBX, BlackBerry DevCon, Jim Balsillie, QNX, QNX BlackBerry OS

Research in Motion Unveils BlackBerry Tag… Kind of reminds us of “Bump”

October 10, 2011 by Robb Dunewood 1 Comment

During his keynote presentation at the GITEX conference in Dubai, Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie this morning introduced BlackBerry Tag, new service coming to BlackBerry devices that support NFC which will allow BlackBerry users to tap their devices together and instantly share data such as contact information (including BBM contacts), documents, pictures, and even multimedia.  BlackBerry Tag reminds me a lot of Bump, the popular iPhone and Android application, but, with the added benefit that BlackBerry users won’t have to install the app, as, it will be included in a future update of the BlackBerry 7 operating system…

[Read more…] about Research in Motion Unveils BlackBerry Tag… Kind of reminds us of “Bump”

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: BlackBerry 7, BlackBerry Tag, Bump, GITEX, Jim Balsillie, NFC

Research in Motion co-CEO’s reaction to Steve Jobs Death

October 6, 2011 by Robb Dunewood 1 Comment

Steve Jobs was a great visionary and a respected competitor…  We extend our deepest condolences to his family and to all of the employees of Apple.

[Via WSJ]

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: Jim Balsillie, Mike Lazaridis, Steve Jobs

BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS v2 to launch after BlackBerry DevCon next month…

September 16, 2011 by Robb Dunewood Leave a Comment

Yesterday during Research in Motion’s second quarter Fiscal 2012 results earnings call co-CEO Jim Balsillie announced that a “major feature update”, BlackBerry Tablet OS v2, for the BlackBerry PlayBook will be previewed next month at BlackBerry DevCon and launch shortly after that.  BlackBerry Tablet OS v2 is expected to bring the native email, calendar, and tasks support as well as the Android App Player to the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: BlackBerry DevCon, BlackBerry Tablet Os v2, Jim Balsillie, RIM Earnings Call

Rant: Jim Balsillie On RIM Is Going To Stat Competitive With Apple And Google

December 17, 2010 by Robb Dunewood 10 Comments

During yesterday’s third quarter fiscal 2011 earnings call, Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie had this to say when Rod Hall of JP Morgan essentially asked how RIM is going to stay competitive with Apple and Google getting people to believe that RIM isn’t just playing catch-up…

I think the PlayBook redefines what a tablet should do. I think we’ve articulated some elements of it, and I think this idea of a proprietary SDK and unnecessary apps — though there’s a huge role for apps — I think is going to shift in the market, and I think it’s going to shift very, very quickly. And I think there’s going to be a strong appetite for web fidelity and tool familiarity. And I think there’s going to be a rapid desire for high performance. And I think we’re way ahead on that. And I think CIO friendliness, we’re way ahead on that.

Now, how do you align or go over the top on carriers and content providers? Well, we have different strategies, and that’s fine, and there may be room for more than one model, who knows. And, you know, it’s a very dynamic market. Plus, there’s enormous growth and shifts happening around the world, you know.

How many fronts people want to take on contention, that’s a question you can ask. Do you want to go over the top of banks, do you want to go over the top on content, do you want to go over the top on carriers, do you want to go over the top on video content providers? I mean, who knows, you know? What part of it’s good strategy and what part of it’s a bridge too far? I mean, who knows?

The truth of it is, you really want a lot of it on your smartphone, and you really want a lot of it, we believe, on a tablet. And you fit with your content providers — who are really changing their strategies for mobility, because they want a sustained model — carriers are aggressively trying to change their models, banks are getting involved.

So, I think the PlayBook clearly sets the bar WAY higher on performance, and you’re going to see more. I think the enterprise stuff, we’re seriously extending. I think the BlackBerry is still number one in social collaboration. And I think with the PlayBook and that environment we’re going to set the new standard on performance and tools, very powerful tools. And we’re growing very very fast. So, that’s a lot.

Connected home? I think there’s ways to seamlessly extend what’s going on in the home, and you’re going to see a lot of how we’re doing that, rather than going over the top. But, you know, it may be a prerogative.

But you’re going into some pretty serious plays when you go in the connected home too hard. You have to pay attention to the fact: What’s the role of the satellite company or the cable company in that? The content vendors get fed paying through them. And also, how do you insert ads very well with these content vendors?

There’s a lot of moving parts, but I think we’re just well ahead on the PlayBook, well ahead internationally, and extending very very well. And so, people can have their views on sentiment, but when is it a good entry strategy, and when is it a bridge too far? Who knows? We have turbulent ecosystem right now. How do you work with banks, how do you work with carriers, how do you work with content, how do you work with enterprise ecosystem?

And I think these business models are highly shifting, and if people think there’s just a straight-ahead shot for everybody, and it’s all just predictably extended the way it’s going now, I think that’s a highly questionable assumption. These business models are highly in flux.

One thing I’ve always liked about Jim Balsillie is that if you ask him a question he usually will tell you what he is thinking.  He may wrap lot of other stuff on his mind around his answers that actually end being more interesting than his actual answers, but, answer your questions he will…

[Source]

Filed Under: RIM Tagged With: Apple, BlackBerry, BlackBerry PlayBook, Google, Jim Balsillie, Q3 Fiscal 2011 Earnings, RIM

Jim Balsillie Gives “In The Field” Hands On Demo Of BlackBerry PlayBook

November 17, 2010 by Robb Dunewood 1 Comment

Although he didn’t show it while on stage at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Jim Balsille did give Engdaget a hands on demo of the BlackBerry PlayBook in the hotel hallway…

We only got to heft the one-pound slate for a few seconds, but we got the basic feel of the device in the hand — warm to the touch, solid if a little plasticky, with a responsive glass touchscreen up top and a bottom that’s mildly rubberized.

The BlackBerry PlayBook looks great, its the right size, and, I want one…

[Via Engadget]

Filed Under: BlackBerry Tagged With: BlackBerry PlayBook, Engadget, Jim Balsillie, PlayBook Hands On, Video, Web 2.0 Summit

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