Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • IT Management
    • Mobile
    • PC Hardware

    RIM CEO Heins Refines Comments on Company Direction

    By
    Nicholas Kolakowski
    -
    January 27, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Newly minted RIM CEO Thorsten Heins gave an interview with the Crackberry blog Jan. 26, in which he attempted to refine earlier comments about the company’s overall direction.

      Specifically, he sought to put additional spin on quotes from this week that RIM was on the “right path” with its current strategy, which centers on the next-generation BlackBerry 10 operating system. RIM expects its current BlackBerry 7 OS devices to hold the line against Apple’s iOS and Google Android until late 2012, when these BlackBerry 10 smartphones will presumably hit the market with enough force to reverse the company’s flagging U.S. market share.

      In a Jan. 23 conference call soon after he took the CEO reins from longtime chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, Heins also said that significant change wasn’t necessary for RIM at this time.

      Some analysts and pundits have spent the past few days pushing back at Heins’ comments, arguing that RIM’s dipping stock price and market share meant the company was in need of radical change, indeed. But in his interview with Crackberry, Heins tried to clarify what he meant.

      “What I was trying to address was that there was some suggestion that RIM should be split up or should even be sold,” he told the blog. “My true belief is that RIM has the strength and the assets that we can really succeed in this market.”

      Moreover, he added, a lot of change is underway at RIM: “There is a lot of structure change, there has been already a lot of change in terms of our software, our software platform, bringing QNX in. There is no standstill at any moment here at RIM.”

      He also insisted that RIM will push through its current transition period. “This is not baking cookies. This is building high-tech products,” he said. “From time to time your aspirations and development timelines hit some bumps in the road that were not foreseen. But I think going down that path is exactly right for BlackBerry and its customers.”

      Despite the CEO switchover, some analysts remained pessimistic about RIM’s near-term chances. “With competing OEMs introducing high-end smartphone products on more established software ecosystems and low-cost Android products pressuring RIM’s international sales,” T. Michael Walkley, a Canaccord Genuity analyst, wrote in a coauthored Jan. 22 research note, “we believe sales and earnings will decline.”

      Others have appeared more upbeat. “By making a break and bringing in new blood RIM is able to start a new chapter,” Peter Misek, an analyst with Jefferies & Co., wrote in a Jan. 23 research note. “We believe Thorsten Heins, a seasoned Siemens executive, is the smoothest near-term replacement. While it does not necessarily change anything overnight, it does create a fresh chapter and open doors and possibilities.”

      In any case, Heins has quite a task ahead of him.

      Follow Nicholas Kolakowski on Twitter

      Avatar
      Nicholas Kolakowski
      Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×