Weak sales for BlackBerry

blackberry

I haven’t used a BlackBerry for years, but I have some friends that still swear by them. But apparently there aren’t enough people who feel like them, as sales keep trending down.

Maybe the announced Q20, or classic BlackBerry, will help a bit, as there are tons of people who still love a phone with buttons. That one can’t come fast enough.

  

Verizon iPhone could cause Android and Blackberry exodus

Verizon iPhone.

We’re just three days from the official Verizon iPhone launch. This could be the biggest tech day of the year, but not just because it’s a Verizon iPhone. According to a recent survey, the release could mean millions of users abandoning the Android and Blackberry platforms.

According to uSamp, a research firm in LA, 66 percent of RIM customers labeled themselves either ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to switch to the iPhone. For Android customers, it was 44 percent for either somewhat or very likely. Granted, those aren’t a guaranteed switch, but it’s certainly more people than I expected. Those kind of numbers would mark huge losses for both Google and RIM, though I’d guess RIM would come away in worse shape than Google.

Source: CNN

  

Sorry Saudis, no Blackberry for you

Blackberry texting.Despite protestations from its citizens and dire warnings from RIM, Saudi Arabia held fast to its stance that RIM should shut off Blackberry data services in the country today. The handset manufacturer complied around 4AM this morning.

Approximately 700,000 Saudis use (well, formerly used) Blackberry services on a day-to-day basis. The big stink around the situation is that RIM was unwilling to host a data center in Saudi Arabia, instead sending data out to its Canadian servers. Other countries take issue with it as well. Over the coming months, the UAE will definitely be shutting down services and India and Lebanon have talked about doing the same.

If RIM didn’t comply, the company would have been fined $1.3 million.

  

Blackberry accessory pack giveaway!

Urbanears Tanto headphones.Don’t let all the news about the new iPhone get you down, Blackberry fans. RIM is still alive and well, delivering handsets you can love. To celebrate the non-Apple fanboys among us, we’ve put together a Blackberry accessory pack giveaway on our parent site, Bullz-Eye.com. I’ve posted the rules here but you’ll want to get a full look at our contest page on Bullz-Eye.

If eligible, you’ll be entered to win a pair of Urbanears Tanto headphones, a Joby Gorillamobile tripod, an iSkin Vibe phone case, and the RichardSolo 1800, a pocket-sized USB batterybackup that also boasts a laser pointer. Just be sure to enter before May 19th!

If you want to enter to win this item, please send an email to:

contests@bullz-eye.com

Please put the name of the item in the subject line of the email and include your full name & address in the body of the email.

Limit one entry by email per promotion. Please do not abuse this rule. If multiple emails are consistently sent from the same address for a particular promotion, that email address will be blocked from all future Bullz-Eye.com giveaways.

We do not share your email and personal information with anybody. Click here for our privacy policy.

You must be at least 18 years old to have a chance to win.

Winners will be selected by Bullz-Eye.com at random. Your chances of winning depend upon the number of items we have to give away and the number of entries we receive while the promotion is posted on Bullz-Eye.com.

Void where prohibited.

CONTEST ENDS: MAY 19, 2010

  

RIM looks better than expected

Blackberry phone lineup.For a while there it seemed as if every analyst was ready to sell RIM up the river. The company wasn’t performing well outside the enterprise market according to most, and the iPhone and Android were gaining speed at alarming rates. Not much has changed. The iPhone has slowed a bit and Android continues to skyrocket, but according to the latest RIM numbers, the BlackBerry brand is doing surprisingly well.

The company missed its quarterly earnings mark, but not by much. Activations are at an all-time high with 4.9 million this quarter. Annual revenue is up a whopping 35 percent. CEO Jim Balsillie sounded positive and said the company is, “off to a great start in fiscal 2011 and expect strong shipments, revenue, subscriber and earnings growth in Q1.”

Shares were still down for the day, likely because of the missed earnings numbers, but all in all things don’t seem so dire. In fact, it all sounds pretty good.