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back to article RIM 'pondering sell-off of hardware biz' to focus on messaging

Troubled BlackBerry maker RIM could be getting out of the hardware business, with the Sunday Times reporting a plan to cut RIM in two and flog off the hardware division to focus on messaging and device management. The Sunday Times doesn't list any sources for its conjecture, but confidentially claims the plan is being …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What's the hardware business worth?

    If they had any worthwhile IP, they wouldn't be in this mess. And the brand equity is pretty much zero.

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  2. John Styles

    Makes sense

    Given the terrible problems Apple are having due to having hardware and sofware biz, and the success Microsoft and Nokia are having with the hardware and software being in different hands.

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    1. swschrad
      Reply Icon

      the world's in a terrible state

      but not like that.

      RIM needs to just go away. the hardware business is zero. the brand is zero. Messenger might have been hot once, but the network is massive overkill. messages can be encrypted and transferred safely in publicly-standardized methods of transfer.

      plow RIM under.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    Well

    The moral being a production plant in the west can't compete with a production plant elsewere would be a factor.

    Two area's here. Design of the phone and production of the phone. RIM overly investing in owned prouction during there high-times on the basis that they would continue and increase, they did not. I blame the demise on the perl handset and the pandering of hardware to a new market they were unable to accomodate without alienating there core users.

    It was clear a while back that the production side was a stone around there necks and sadly they did not increase production in there won country and opted for cheap EU countries like hungry who at the time I was informed by somebody form there that so many handsets would get nicked that if you want a cheap device you will soon be able to buy them cheap on the black market - just like what happened to the IBM HD plant there. But I know nothing about that aspect of trust over there.

    RIM has realy only been a software service tied to a particular brand of phone, though tey have had BBconnect software they sell to other handset makers and this was poorly implemented and actioned by most and in that alot dropped it. Arragance of RIM prevailed and you don't have to go far back thru there townhall meetings to see people asking about QA and managment saying ew thats a nice idea!!!

    I expect the RIM managment to do the obvious after everybody else has realised it and then only once they have paid somebody money they cant afford to pay to say the same thing.

    RIM have missed so many opertunities that it is bordering upon complete and utter neglegence and I can only sumise that they recruited all the shit Nortel managment over time and are now going down that same spiral.

    Question is - if you got 1000 monkeys - would they come up with a better plan - safly I suspect they would.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      Re: Well

      It's no surprise that a perl handset would have led to customer dissatisfaction, unless monks were involved...

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    2. crowley
      Reply Icon
      WTF?

      Re: Well

      Oh god, I tried so hard to read your post, I really did.

      However:

      there != their

      won != own

      hungry != Hungary

      I couldn't get any further, your butchery of the language jarred too much on both eyes and consciousness. I don't mean to question your intelligence, prejudice you, etc, I really don't - but you really do need to acquire a greater respect for your readers, if you want your readers to get through your ideas, and so enjoy the opportunity to respect you.

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd buy that for a dollar

    As long as I didn't have to also have all their problems and debts.

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  5. Jason Hindle

    Classic corporate plughole behaviour

    I have nothing else to add.

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  6. qpopb
    Go

    Million dollar BBusiness idea.

    Here you go RIM, no charge from me:

    1. Sell your hardware biz to whoever will buy it, you might have some worthwhile patents for Google/Apple to snap up, and you've always made the best 'phone qwerty keyboards.

    2. Lease your BBM software to all platforms. They'll snap it up. If BBM was ubiquitous, available through web browsers, Android, fruit based electronics, etc., yet retaining similar levels of security / centralised enterprise control, it would be a game changer.

    3. Profit.

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    1. Cache
      Reply Icon

      Re: Million dollar BBusiness idea.

      If you want a ubiquitous, fully integrated SaaS that has all the attributes of RIM BBM plus many more high value elements like end-to-end encryption at up to 4096 bits, that fully supports all PC's, Tablets and all Smartphones (including RIM) then take a look at cryptoexpress.com.

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  7. John Sanders
    Linux

    Port the application suite to Android

    And become an Android manufacturer so blackberries are Android phones running your differentiated platform plus all the Android stuff.

    It's the only way.

    They will not do that, they are way too deep into the tar-pit now.

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    1. bazza Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Port the application suite to Android

      @John Sanders,

      Well there's genius for you. You're suggesting that a firm that has a boring but effective enterprise offering ditches all that and becomes just another also-ran Android manufacturer? Blackberry messaging on top of Android cannot be the same as it is on RIM's own phones because Android is rubbish at security, and you can't have secure messaging if messages are vulnerable to uncontrolled malware on the mobile device. It would have substantially less appeal to enterprise users.

      RIM's problem is that security is seen as boring, and it is. Right now there are companies out there being swayed by the BYOD promise of less costs and happier staff. However, they're doing so probably because some high up manager wants a flashy phone despite their IT manager's protests.

      It is noteworthy that IBM has tried BYOD and then abruptly changed their mind (El Reg passum). Have they had a data accident? Anyway, most companies will likely perceive no problem with BYOD right up until they discover that their IPR and data have been nicked and their business is in serious trouble as a result.

      BYOD may well be a passing phase after which companies painfully re-discover the need for corporate security. If RIM isn't there at that point in time offering something like they do now, I’m not sure there will be an equivalent alternative. Google depends on reading your Gmail. Apple don’t care and is becoming more like Google every day. MS don’t seem to have got it yet. Third party add-ons are not a good solution if the underlying OS doesn’t provide the right support (which Android, iOS, and WinPhone don’t really do). RIM need to think long term, but shareholders these days generally aren't in to long term thinking.

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  8. Handle this!
    Flame

    Should be the other way round...

    They ballsed the messaging up when they made BES work exclusively with MS SQL as a backend (why didn't they not offer an open source db alternative so each enterprise didnt need an expensive kludge for BB messaging sat on their network?).

    On the other hand, a lot of (business) end users LIKE the BB keyboard instead of a finger smeared screen - the keyboard is much more accurate and quicker to type on.

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