Jim Cramer doesn’t have much good to say about Research In Motion…
In this clip from TheStreet.Com, Jim Cramer discusses what is happening to RIM given their announcement last night that 3rd quarter revenue was going to fall below their own projections for the quarter:
One really interesting point Jim makes is that the Blackberry has become commoditized, and no longer commands a premium in the market. It has become ubiquitous in both business and consumer circles and the cachet of having one has dissipated. They are no longer “the in” device to pull out of your purse or pocket.
But that’s only part of the story…
My personal view here is that RIM is following roughly same trajectory that Palm has taken. It sat on it’s technological lead way too long only to find that it’s franchise market - mobile corporate email - had been successfully challenged by Apple with the iPhone 3G. The proprietary infrastructure RIM was counting on to cement their position in the market failed them. (The same infrastructure they needed to pay NTP $600M for to settle patent claims just over two years ago!) The less than stellar debut of their highly anticipated touch screen ‘Blackberry Storm’ was really the tipping point in the market, convincing many that RIM was no longer the leader and innovator in this market.
But with all that being said, Apple shouldn’t get too cocky. Leadership in technology markets can be a fleeting thing, and a even a single misstep can be severely damaging.
If RIM can fall out of favor, it can happen to anyone…
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