RIM may fall short of sales targets post-Storm
updated 12:40 pm EST, Mon November 24, 2008
RIM Falling Short in Q3 08
Research in Motion's heavily promoted BlackBerry Storm launch this Friday may not have been enough to save the company from a poor financial quarter, according to a new research note by Citi analyst Jim Suva. Although the Storm sold out at many Verizon stores since launch, Suva supports claims of a software-based delay and notes that many stores actually received significantly less units than expected, forcing many customers to wait as late as December 15th to get devices they would otherwise have had on launch.
The delay won't immediately affect the number of phones RIM can claim to have shipped but will prevent many of the affected owners from counting themselves as BlackBerry push e-mail subscribers until December, or just after the November 29th end of RIM's third financial quarter for the year.
A lack of new subscribers also pervades other areas of RIM's business, the analyst says. Early data for AT&T's version of the BlackBerry Bold points to most buyers being existing users rather than new customers, while enterprise-class sales are seen cooling across the board and hurting RIM's most reliable market. T-Mobile's new preference for the Android-based G1 as well as the high costs of combo voice and data plans for home users are both characterized as factors.
A sub-par quarter would potentially represent serious damage to RIM, which suffered its first clear setback of recent memory when Apple's iPhone overtook BlackBerries in shipments for the first time during the summer.
slight grammatical error?
11/24, 01:22pm reply
Shouldn't it read "significantly fewer units than expected," rather than, "significantly less units than expected?"
It just seems to look wrong with "less."
rexray
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Joined: Jul 2002
Plans too high
11/24, 01:43pm reply
I'd get a Blackberry in a heartbeat if the voice/text/email plan wasn't $99 from Verizon. I know they're pushing corporate customers, but I think they'd sell a bunch more units to non-business customers if the plans were more affordable for those without an expense account and would like an alternative to the iPhone.
snork
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Joined: Feb 2008
Bad reviews
11/24, 02:59pm reply
There has also been a bunch of poor reviews for the Storm. Since they didn't ship many on the initial run, lots of those potential customers will have more chances to reconsider...
chefpastry
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2005
Please...
11/24, 03:25pm reply
We're going to trust an analyst? And one from "Please bail us out of our ineptitude!" Citi?
testudo
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Joined: Aug 2001
What's longer than a
11/24, 03:59pm reply
Storm purchase line? A Storm return line. Haha.
Like every major tech company, RIM sales will be down this year. Nothing unusual about this in a poor economy. What's to even speculate about?
Constable Odo
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Joined: Aug 2007
re. slight grammatical
11/24, 06:49pm reply
The reason it "just seems to look wrong" is because it is wrong. Fewer is used as an adjective when the noun can be counted (fewer cars on the road, fewer people buying PCs, etc.). Less is used as an adjective when the noun can't be counted (less water in the sink, less air in the balloon, etc.).
trevj
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Joined: Dec 1999
re. slight grammatical
11/24, 06:51pm reply
The reason it "just seems to look wrong" is because it is wrong. Fewer is used as an adjective when the noun can be counted (fewer cars on the road, fewer people buying PCs, etc.). Less is used as an adjective when the noun can't be counted (less water in the sink, less air in the balloon, etc.).
trevj
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Joined: Dec 1999
re. slight grammatical
11/24, 06:51pm reply
The reason it "just seems to look wrong" is because it is wrong. Fewer is used as an adjective when the noun can be counted (fewer cars on the road, fewer people buying PCs, etc.). Less is used as an adjective when the noun can't be counted (less water in the sink, less air in the balloon, etc.).
trevj
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Joined: Dec 1999
dang
11/24, 06:53pm reply
I should have hit "Submit" fewer times. :-(
trevj
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Joined: Dec 1999