Buyers said to be holding back for new BlackBerry
Canadian manufacturer RIM lost a million customers and shipped 500,000 fewer smartphones in the last quarter, tightening the pressure on the company as it prepares for the make-or-break launch of its new BlackBerry 10 range at the end of next month [January 2013]. RIM says it now has 79 million subscribers compared to 80 million last quarter and has tried to put a gloss on the decline by arguing that purchasers are delaying buying until the new handsets are available. Even so, it meant Q3 2012 revenues halved year on year down to $2.7 billion (£1.66 billion), versus $5.1 billion in 2011, leading to an adjusted net loss of $114 million.
Ironically, shares on Nasdaq reacted positively to the news due to the fact that losses were not a high as expected.
Meanwhile Toronto-based RIM is amassing a cash war chest ahead of next month’s launch as it gears up to a major advertising blitz for the new BlackBerry.
This boosted the value of its cash holdings and investments from $2.3 billion to $2.9 billion over Q2.
FOOTNOTE: RIM has agreed to give Nokia a one-off payment and regular licence fees to end a disagreement over WiFi technology in a sign that manufacturers are pulling back from the most aggressive legal tactics in the smartphone patent wars.
The dispute centred on a WiFi networking standard that RIM claimed was covered by an existing licensing agreement from 2003. Nokia had launched lawsuits in the UK, US and Canada last month that could have seen WiFi-enabled Blackberrys banned from sale.
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