Gyroscopic Investing

Gosso wrote:- RIM could easily open up its Playbook and Blackberry phones to the Android Apps Market, which would solve its app problem.

Gumby wrote:

Gosso wrote:- RIM could easily open up its Playbook and Blackberry phones to the Android Apps Market, which would solve its app problem.

Not exactly. My understanding is that they won't be upgrading the OS on current Blackberry 7 phones that they are selling people. So, anyone who buys a Blackberry 7 today phone will have an obsolete phone the second they turn it on.

http://www.businessinsider.com/blackber ... qnx-2011-8

So, the idea that they could "easily" do this for most of their user base appears to be false.

It's funny. I remember purchasing AAPL when it was at $9, back in 2003. At the time, people said AAPL wasn't going anywhere with it's tiny marketshare, etc. I bought some AAPL (a little nervously) the day after Steve jobs demoed the iTunes Music Store to the public. I remember thinking that it was pretty revolutionary in terms of bringing legal downloads to Mac owners for a reasonably price. I knew it had some potential. Didn't think it would have that much potential. But, the point is that you can never tell.

However... RIM doesn't appear to be doing anything revolutionary or groundbreaking as far as I can tell. They just seem to be copying Google and Apple at this point — and doing a lousy job of it, in my opinion. I think they would really need to enter a new market to raise some eyebrows at this point.

Gosso wrote:I'm only using a little play money here, so if this baby drops to zero then I'll still be able to eat.  :)

Gumby wrote:

Gosso wrote:I'm only using a little play money here, so if this baby drops to zero then I'll still be able to eat.  :)

That's what I did with AAPL. Now I wish I had put more in it. Unfortunately, I sold it last year (when SJ was getting sick).

I think that's what's turned me off stocks. Even when you pick a winner, you just don't know when to sell and how much to buy. That, and the fact that I'll never be able to pick another AAPL again. That was my one shot to hit it big and I choked. It just seems like even if you pick the right stock, your mind will make it difficult to fully realize its full potential.

At least with the PP it just is what it is.

MediumTex wrote: RIMM reminds me of PALM a little more every day.

MediumTex wrote: It looks like it's not quite time to buy RIMM.

Gosso wrote:

MediumTex wrote: It looks like it's not quite time to buy RIMM.

Haha...I just consider this a minor workout for my volatility sensitivity.  If I can handle an 8% drop in one day, then the PermPort is a cake walk.  Although this does have me wondering where my puke point will be...

RIM is opening up its Blackberry service to iPhones and Androids...so they may be shifting away from hardware and focusing on software/solutions.  Or may even split the company in two, one half hardware and the other software.

Here's another tidbit from The Market Ticker Guy...this made me feel better: Apple to $300

MediumTex wrote: My experience with stock action like this is that there is going to be some accounting irregularity reported soon and there will be some kind of downward revision of past earnings.

We'll see what happens.

Gosso wrote:
I am actually very surprised that Apple didn't buy them out, especially since they easily had the cash to do it.

MediumTex wrote: RIMM reminds me of PALM a little more every day.

edsanville wrote:

Gosso wrote:
I am actually very surprised that Apple didn't buy them out, especially since they easily had the cash to do it.

Doesn't this imply that Apple didn't see anything worth buying, (or at least not enough to make it worth the price tag)?  Not a good sign...

On Thursday, RIM reported financial results that were far below the expectations of investors on Wall Street and Bay Street. RIM said its losses for the past three months totalled nearly US$200-million and that it expects to see another loss later this summer.

“Wow — what a disaster,”? said Edward Snyder, managing director of Charter Equity Research in San Francisco, who added that RIM is in a “handset death spiral.”?

"At this point, RIM will likely have a difficult time commanding a high price in a sale. As its share price tumbled about 15% in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange, RIM’s market capitalization stood at about $4.1-billion."

Gumby wrote: Sorry, Gosso.

On a related note... Remember the days when everyone thought that Blackberry had an edge because it had a tactile keyboard?

http://www.markevanstech.com/2010/12/21 ... rd-stupid/

I remember being surprised at the time that people really believed that the keyboard could never be improved — as if progress never goes forward.

Gosso wrote: I cannot believe they have pushed back the BB10 until early 2013, which makes it at least one year late, plus they are laying off a huge portion of the staff, so I doubt they'll even make the 2013 deadline.  What a shit show.

Alanw wrote: Ever heard of PALM?

Gosso wrote: If RIM would have had the BB10 out on time their stock would likely be at least around the $30-40 mark.  There is still a somewhat loyal BB customer base, but most of them have been waiting for the BB10, and in the meantime have likely given-up and switched over to Apple or Google.

I was really thinking that the collapse in their stock price would have motivated them to get the BB10 out in the next couple months...I guess I was wrong.

Alanw wrote: Ever heard of PALM?

Forget PALM, this is Nortel 2.0.  I also wouldn't be surprised if MT is correct and they are somewhat cooking the books (although they're doing a horrible job of it!).  Sucks for the Canadian technology sector...I guess we'll revert back to lumberjacks and tar-sand miners.

MediumTex wrote:

Gosso wrote: If RIM would have had the BB10 out on time their stock would likely be at least around the $30-40 mark.  There is still a somewhat loyal BB customer base, but most of them have been waiting for the BB10, and in the meantime have likely given-up and switched over to Apple or Google.

I was really thinking that the collapse in their stock price would have motivated them to get the BB10 out in the next couple months...I guess I was wrong.

Alanw wrote: Ever heard of PALM?

Forget PALM, this is Nortel 2.0.  I also wouldn't be surprised if MT is correct and they are somewhat cooking the books (although they're doing a horrible job of it!).  Sucks for the Canadian technology sector...I guess we'll revert back to lumberjacks and tar-sand miners.

FWIW, I have the BB Curve and I'm amazed at how much they have packed into its small case.  It's probably one-half the size of an iPhone and it does what it does pretty well (email+texting+phone+calendar+limited web browsing+a few games+much better battery life than iPhone).