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Table of Contents Page #

Executive Summary .....................................................................................................2

Porter’s 5 Force Analysis ............................................................................................3

Rivalry................................................................................................................3

Threat of Entrants ..............................................................................................3

Threat of Substitutes ..........................................................................................4

Supplier Power ...................................................................................................4

Buyer Power.......................................................................................................5

Hambrick & Fredrickson’s Strategy Diamond .........................................................6

Arenas: Where will we be active? .....................................................................6

Vehicles: How will we get there? ......................................................................6

Differentiators: How will we win? ....................................................................7

Staging: What will be our speed and sequence of moves? ................................7

Economic Logic: How will we obtain our returns? ...........................................8

Internal Analysis ..........................................................................................................8

Strengths & Weaknesses ....................................................................................8

Competitive Advantages & Sustainability .........................................................8

Financial Health .................................................................................................9

Business-Level Analysis .............................................................................................10

Overall Positioning ..........................................................................................10

Functional Strategies vs. Positioning Strategies ..............................................11

Cooperative and Competitive Dynamics .........................................................11

Methods of Entry .............................................................................................12

International Outlook ................................................................................................12

Strategic Recommendations ......................................................................................13

U.S. Turnaround Strategy ................................................................................13

Sell the Company .............................................................................................16

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Executive Summary

What is RIM? Research in Motion, Limited (RIM) sells mobile data solutions through its

brand name business BlackBerry. This includes proprietary software built exclusively for its handheld

devices. RIM has three core divisions: hardware device production, software development, and

maintenance of its Business Enterprise Server (BES). The company earns revenue through the sale of

its mobile and tablet devices, which are equipped with proprietary software. The company also earns

subscription fees that it receives from mobile carriers.

BlackBerry must continue its presence in high growth foreign markets. RIM is losing in

the U.S. market, but continues to enjoy high growth overseas. This is due to its low-price, high-volume

strategy that the company employs to compete in the foreign market. The competition outside the U.S.

is less rigorous, where some of the main players in the U.S. market have limited presence.

BlackBerry must keep up with its competition and compete in its strongest area.

BlackBerry devices seem to be lacking in terms of technology and App Store. As the company entered

the consumer oriented segment, it faces competition from Apple and Google. Apple & Google have

invested a lot into R&D and in order for RIM to stay competitive, it needs to either license its

competitors’ technology or internally develop them. Lastly, BlackBerry’s competitive advantage is in

its network through BBM and its high security system. The company has to leverage these main

features to remain competitive in the smartphone market.

Key Issues

Lag in technological advances for both hardware and software

Losing market share in the US

Failed in tablet market

International cutoff of BBM/ collapse of service

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Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis

Rivalry is low. The mobile device and data solutions industry is highly concentrated,

characterized by a few large competitors and numerous smaller competitors. As a result, the industry

rivalry is lessened.1,2

The growth in this industry has been extremely fast-paced, as Cisco has predicted

that global mobile traffic of data will grow 78% over the next five years. 3 This means that firms can

simply keep up with the industry’s growth to keep their respective positions and improve their

revenues.4 Although there are numerous fixed cost components to this industry: office space,

production facilities, and employees; there has been an increasing trend of firms shifting to just-in-time

production.5

This allows smartphone manufacturers to have relatively low inventory and subsequently

low storage costs, which reduces the pressure to fill capacity.6 Firms in this industry compete on

product differentiation, not just price. For instance, Apple wants to be revolutionary in user experience

and friendliness, while Microsoft wants to be extremely functional.7,8

In addition, there are other areas

where incumbents can differentiate themselves, including application markets and phone designs.

Switching cost in this industry is quite high as people need to learn the different interface.

Threat of entrants is low. The smartphone industry is very capital intensive due to high

research and development (R&D) costs and expensive manufacturing facilities. This raises the barrier

of entry and makes it difficult for small companies to enter. Many of the firms that compete in this

industry have existing long-term contractual relationships with mobile carriers and benefit from their

significant brand equity. These companies also have a great deal of knowledge and experience through

economies of learning, which gives them a major cost advantage over smaller entrants. New entrants

will have difficulty getting carriers to adopt their phones because many carriers are already in profitable

deals with the large mobile phone manufacturers.9 In order to achieve scale in this industry, new

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entrants would need to invest a substantial amount of resources into supply chains and distribution

channels.

Threat of substitutes is low. Mobile phones and tablet devices have two primary functions:

the first is to keep people connected through communication. The second is the ability to access and

distribute information instantaneously. The substitutes that can perform one or both of these functions

include: facsimile, e-mail, land lines, instant messaging, social networking, mail and other delivery

services, the Internet, newspapers, and magazines. While there are a number of substitutes that are

readily available to the public, these are not enough to adequately substitute a mobile phone or tablet

device.10

The majority of people today need mobile or tablet devices to help them stay connected to

friends, family, co-workers, and information while they are on the move.11

As a result, it is very

unlikely that anyone of these substitutes could overcome the need for a mobile or tablet device. In fact,

many of the smartphones that are on the market today are available with a variety of these substitutes,

such as e-mail, Internet, and social networking, preloaded on the devices.

The supplier power is low to moderate. There are two main suppliers in this industry: the

hardware manufacturers and software developers. There are numerous chip manufacturers in this

industry consisting of Marvell, Texas Instruments, Intel, and Qualcomm. These companies are an

important supplier group to this industry. Switching costs are high because it is expensive to negotiate a

contract with a new supplier. It’s also very time-consuming for a supplier to become compatible with

BlackBerry. On the other hand, there is no threat of forward integration and this industry is also an

important customer to the supplier group, which reduces suppliers’ power.12

Thus, the supplier power

of hardware providers is moderate. Software developers, on the contrary, have low bargaining power.

There are many open source mobile operating systems, with some of the biggest players in this industry

developing their operating system internally such as Apple and Google. The emergence of software

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developers paying a substantial amount of money to hardware manufacturers to adopt its operating

system, which further reduces suppliers’ power: Microsoft paid Nokia more than $1 billion to release

its new smartphones running the Windows Phone operating system.13

There isn’t any credible threat of

forward integration, as these software developers need a platform to run their operating system.

Traditional consumers have low power, but corporate and government buyer power is

moderate. Buyers within the smartphone market are moderately powerful due to offsetting industry

forces, which both limit and extend buyer’s power to negotiate lower prices. Consumer buyer power is

limited because of high levels of product differentiation, the presence of demand side externalities such

as the bandwagon effect, and the product’s high value to consumers. Differentiation can be found in

product design, product functionality, Internet browsing and e-mail capabilities and size of application

marketplace. Because of the quality and capability disparities amongst smartphones in the market,

consumers are forced to be price-takers in the premium space where RIM’s BlackBerry devices

operate. Also, demand side externalities as a result of more consumers attached to the network are a

leading detractor from buyer power. As more consumers adopt a phone and become connected to the

network, device suppliers have more of an incentive to raise the price to access that network, which

lowers purchaser power. Finally, as smartphones are essential to our daily lives and only becoming

more of an integrated technology by the day, device suppliers understand the value consumers place on

their products as a life necessity, which leads to a de facto increase in consumer willingness to pay.

Consumers are also fragmented, which further reducers their ability to influence prices. Consumers

might not have much power when it comes to the negotiation of prices, but larger entities, such as

corporations and governments, have considerably more power to lower prices. These entities buy in

large quantities, allowing them to influence prices.

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Is this an attractive industry? Yes, Porter’s Five Forces are mainly low, which means that

there are very few entities that can exert any real power over the industry and affect the profitability

of the major players in this industry.

Hambrick & frederickson’s Strategy Diamond

Arenas: Where will we be active? RIM specializes in mobile phone operating system,

device design and manufacturing. Within this platform, RIM has carved out a specialized niche as

having developed the most secure mobile OS.14

This core competency helps the BlackBerry line

appeal to large corporate customers as a work phone for employees. Besides the BlackBerry line,

RIM has also introduced a tablet, dubbed the PlayBook, which intends to appeal most to current

BlackBerry users and other tablet fans.15

Besides operating in their core North American market,

RIM has expanded globally and now sells product in Asia, Europe and Latin America.16

Vehicles: How do we get there? RIM uses the combination of internal development and

joint distribution. Internal development is the prominent method of expansion where RIM has a lot of

experience and existing users. According to Gregory Wade, RIM’s Asia Head, the company is

planning on adding 4,000 outlets across Indonesia by 2013, from its original four shops.17

RIM also

plans to continue its Southeast Asian expansion by aggressively opening flagship stores in Thailand

and Malaysia.18

On the contrary, to enter a new market that the company has limited experience in,

RIM relies on joint distribution to access established distribution channels. For instance, Brightstar

Corp. received an exclusive right to distribute to more than 51 countries and territories, including

Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa.19

Moreover, Brightpoint Slovakia S.R.O. entered into a

preferred distribution agreement to distribute BlackBerry smartphones in Bosnia, Albania,

Macedonia and Serbia. 20

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Differentiators: How will we win? RIM’s products differentiate themselves from the rest of

the mobile market by establishing a business first image. The products are designed using premium

materials and feature many advanced communication and multimedia capabilities. Also, many

devices are designed with keypads to improve functionality. There are few options for customization

of BlackBerry phones. More appearance and software customization options are available from third

party manufacturers. However, some enterprise services, such as data transfers and email, can be

customized to the client’s needs.

In a study conducted by Squaretrade in 2010, BlackBerry phones had a 6.3% failure rate

compared to iPhone’s 2.1%. BlackBerry also lagged android phones which had failure rates between

2.3% and 3.7%. However, BlackBerry had the lowest one-year accident rate at 6.7% compared to

iPhone’s 9.4%. This shows that BlackBerry has an advantage in physical durability in comparison to

its competitors.21

Staging: What will be our speed and sequence of moves? Currently, RIM’s strategy

involves a strong reliance on its newest operating system, BlackBerry 10, to push its recently

slumped sales. The company is expecting to release its newest handheld and tablet devices with the

BlackBerry 10 OS. The company is prepared to release 2,000 prototype versions of the software to

developers at the company’s annual BlackBerry Jam conference in Orlando, Florida( needs a

numbered reference) this May.22

RIM hopes that this will allow enough time for developers to design

new applications for the operating system by the time it is released to the public. The move shows

RIM’s continued commitment to its proprietary applications market. CEO Thorsten Heins has

indicated that the company needs to improve the execution of its product rollout. In addition, he has

also placed a stronger emphasis on boosting the company’s marketing message, especially within the

United States, as evidence by the company’s creation of a chief marketing position.

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Economic Logic: How will we obtain our returns? RIM’s economic logic has been about

its commitment to users’ privacy and its brand equity. The company has the most brand loyalty

among enterprise consumers and will likely remain as the most secure way for organizations to have

mobile information sharing. RIM’s operating system is also less vulnerable to viruses compared to

Android OS and iOS, which adds reliability to BlackBerry’s devices. Furthermore, in the emerging

markets, BlackBerry is considered as a prestigious and aspirational brand. As a result, sales outside

the U.S. accounted for approximately 54% of revenue in fiscal 2011 versus 37% a year ago, and

BlackBerry products and services are now available through over 595 carriers and distribution

channels in over 175 countries around the world.23

The two aforementioned factors allow the

company to charge a premium on its products.

Internal Analysis

Strengths & Weaknesses

Some of RIM’s strengths include providing integrated solutions, which are achieved through

devices and services. It also has brand loyalty and remains the securest way for organizations to have

mobile information sharing. Finally, RIM’s financial statements indicate that it extremely healthy

and can afford to implement new strategies and make new acquisitions.24

RIM’s weaknesses are that its market share relies heavily on corporate and government

buyers. Also, on a fairly consistent basis, RIM fails to meet their announced deadlines for new

product releases. This is simply a matter of poor planning and execution.25

Competitive Advantages & Sustainability

BlackBerry’s proprietary OS specifically designed to maximize utility of BlackBerry’s

hardware is a sustainable source of competitive advantage. Smartphone hardware developers like

HTC and Samsung use Google’s open source software instead of developing their own. BlackBerry

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is priced higher than most cell phones because, like Apple, it creates both the hardware and software

in its devices, and is the only other major player in the industry that does this. According to Steve

Jobs, harmony between hardware and software is best accomplished when they are designed for each

other, hence creating inherent, sustainable value. Although RIM creates both smartphones and

tablets, its main focus has always been on the BlackBerry operating system, hardware, and software

features. But its proprietary OS isn’t enough to sustain RIM as a whole. RIM’s market share has been

declining for the past two years from 19% in 2009 to 10.4% in 2011. It has missed its earnings for

the past 6 out of 8 quarters causing its once $147 valued stock to plummet to $13 a share (Appendix

C). This occurred partly due to a failure to implement the newest technologies in its products,

virtually standing still amongst its competitors.26

Its security and BlackBerry Messaging (BBM)

competitive advantages from a few years ago have since been adopted by competitors. BlackBerry

hasn’t made any significant improvements on its security or BBM, losing its head start into these

areas. Security is one of BlackBerry’s competitive advantages; however, if it does not innovate, it

will become unsustainable.27

Financial Health

RIM is in strong financial condition; however, it has had its share of difficulties over the past

fiscal year. During the five years preceding fiscal year 2012 the company experienced significant

growth, increasing its revenue by more than 33% each year (Appendix A). Fiscal 2012 illustrates a

reversal of this trend, with revenue of $18.44 billion, down 7.39% from its high of $19.91 billion. Its

profitability was cut by almost a third from 17.13% of revenue to 6.31% of revenue. This data

suggests that RIM’s strategy is no longer sustainable, and that RIM is in need of a turnaround. While

the company weighs its bleak options strategically, fiscally, the company has never been healthier.

As of fiscal year end 2012, the company has zero debt outstanding, which means no leverage and

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almost no risk of solvency. The company is also very liquid, current assets less illiquid inventory is

almost two times its current liabilities—an indication that in the short term the company will be able

to meet all of its obligations. An analysis of the company’s results of operation for this fiscal year

when compared to 2011, details why there was such a sudden decrease in the profit margin. Cost of

sales constituted 64.31% of revenues, almost 10% more than cost of sales in 2011 when compared to

revenues. The company also had to write down $355 million in goodwill impairment, taking another

2% off of the margin. The company had rising costs in selling, marketing, and advertising expenses

as well as an increase in depreciation and amortization. RIM also invested $1.56 billion into research

and development. As a result of these increases, the company’s operating expenses grew from

76.71% of revenues in 2011 to 91.92% of revenues in 2012, indicating an obvious need to curb rising

costs in the operation of its business.28

Business-Level Analysis

Overall Positioning

According to RIM, BlackBerry’s overall positioning makes it “a global leader in wireless

innovation” and a business executive’s phone. For a while, those who carried it gave the impression

of legitimacy and a force to be reckoned with. Now, by introducing the Pearl and the Storm,

BlackBerry has diluted its corporate position in lieu of targeting everyday consumers.29

“RIM’s focus

on business-grade solutions has won the company a market-leading role in the enterprise market. At

the same time, BlackBerry smartphones continue to be widely embraced by consumers looking for

advanced communications and multimedia features.”30

This demonstrates that RIM originally

targeted the corporate segment of the market, and then began straddling both the corporate and

consumer market once the company discovered the rising popularity of BBM, among other things,

by consumers.

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Functional Strategies vs. Positioning Strategies

RIM has always held high standards for the security of its network and devices. Its

acquisitions of Certicom, Paratech and QNX support BlackBerry’s position to be the global leader in

innovation of security-encrypted communications, developing smarter and more effective antennae,

making its networks compatible and pushing its operating system to new levels of real time

multitasking capabilities.31

Since BBM took the public by storm, BlackBerry began to be viewed as a consumer brand in

addition to its more notable professional ties. Then its functional strategies became mixed along with

its image and made its positioning even more confusing with the release of the Pearl and Storm. Even

its marketing campaigns switched from business-focused to consumer-targeted. RIM tried to straddle

the smartphone market and has lost market share because of it. The release of the Playbook proves

this further.32

Competitive & Cooperative Dynamics

The introduction of BlackBerry Fusion moves RIM in the direction of cooperative dynamics

with other smartphone developers. Mobile Fusions will allow iOS and Android to integrate into

RIM’s mobile solutions, where previously only BlackBerrys were allowed. This seemingly shifts

RIM’s position from a mobile integrated device & service provider to more of a mobile solutions

service provider. RIM will lose significant market share in the U.S. if Fusion testing succeeds

because consumer demand for iPhones and Androids is increasing.33

On the contrary, RIM is considering licensing its operating system to companies like Samsung

Electronics Co. and HTC Corp. This is an attempt to let hardware manufacturers to adopt RIM’s

technology, which allows the company to stay competitive and relevant. By allowing its competitors

12

to adopt RIM’s technology, the company can benefit from positive network externalities, as well as

exposure to potential customers.34

Methods of Entry

RIM’s strategy of combining internal development with joint distribution is the most

effective method of entry, considering the company’s current position in the market. As previously

mentioned, internal development is mainly used to expand RIM in a market where it has the largest

users—including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. On the contrary, joint distribution is the

preferred method of entry in countries where RIM hasn’t had a lot of experience. BlackBerry relied

heavily on these strategic partners for international distribution and phone maintenance.35

This lack

of physical presence in foreign countries reduces overhead costs for RIM, but it results in uneven

quality of customer service overseas. The ability to use both internal development and joint

distribution allows the company to be flexible and move swiftly into a new market.

International Outlook

In the past year, the smartphone market has grown at a substantial rate of 56.6% globally.

Amongst all platforms sold in the world, BlackBerry has only grown 5%, while Apple and Android

have grown 96% and 244.1%, respectively. (Appendix A) BlackBerry has lost most of its foothold in

the U.S. smartphone market with a share of 53% in 2009, dropping dramatically to a share of 13% in

2011. However, BlackBerry has gained market share overseas, increasing its share in Indonesia from

9% in 2009 to 47% in 2011. (Appendix B)

In Asia, RIM’s strategy is focused on the sale of low-tech, low-price BlackBerrys, at roughly

$100-$300 range. The high volume of sales offsets the lower profit margin from each individual

BlackBerry sale. In the international market BlackBerry is considered a luxury good, which increases

the consumer’s willingness to pay. Although late in technological advancement, BlackBerry has a

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better chance to compete in the Asian markets. Although the iPhone is considered the top-tier phone,

its price is largely prohibitive. The large number of sales results in network advantage, where foreign

banks like BNI choose to give BlackBerrys to 5,000 of its employees.36

UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Lebanon have banned or tried to ban BlackBerry

sales in their respective countries because BlackBerry poses a potential breach in their national

security. There are two major problems: First, governments want local servers so that they can

closely monitor their citizens.37

Without local BBM servers, governments lack the jurisdiction to

extract customers’ information. Secondly, data through BBM from government and military

personnel is routed to RIM’s servers in Canada. This is considered a breach of information and can

compromise national security.38

Strategic Recommendations

U.S. Turnaround Strategy

Business-Oriented BlackBerry Pro Division. RIM should consider separating its business

and traditional customers in order to better serve their respective needs. In addition, by segmenting its

target consumers, RIM can better allocate its marketing efforts. In an open letter to RIM’s former

CEO, the company’s employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the way the company conducts

its marketing. There seems to be confusion among customers and employees as to what BlackBerry

is trying to offer. “We need an inventive and engaging campaign that focuses on what we are about.

People buy into a brand / product not just because of features, but because of what it evokes and what

it stands for.” This is why we strongly believe that BlackBerry needs to establish a new division

called the BlackBerry Pro--to serve corporations more effectively. By segmenting, the company can

implement a dual pricing strategy and command a higher premium on its business-oriented phones,

while adding unlimited customer support and software updates. RIM also needs to catch-up with the

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latest hardware technology—8 megapixel camera, large screen, dual or quad core processor—and

more business oriented applications and services to its BlackBerry Pro users. (See Appendix E)

VoIP—which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol—allows BlackBerry Pro users to access Skype

over their phones. This feature allows business customers to participate in or initiate a video-

conference, differentiating RIM from its competitors. By implementing these changes, RIM can

effectively target its business customers and access to high growth markets.39

Consumer-Oriented BlackBerry Division. Devices from the consumer-oriented division

will be branded as BlackBerry. These phones will be marketed as what BlackBerry is today in global

markets. The consumer line will be priced significantly lower, in the middle of the smartphone

market, but have higher speed and more cutting edge technology. The BlackBerry brand name and

lower-priced devices should entice customers to switch from the higher-priced Android and Apple

phones. Even though the BlackBerry line will not have as advanced data transfer or enterprise

security features as the BlackBerry Pro line, it will have a variety of multimedia features.

BlackBerrys will come in a variety of colors and many will have touchscreen capabilities. By greatly

differentiating the two lines, RIM is able to segment their customers in order to target them more

effectively.

Strengthen RIM’s Emulator. RIM’s application market cannot compete with Apple’s App

Store or Google’s Play. As more people are using Apple’s iPhone or Google’s Android, smartphone

application developers are more inclined to develop applications to the two aforementioned

companies. In order for RIM to benefit from a wide selection of applications, the company has to

take advantage of its Android emulator. In the short term, RIM should shift its focus from developing

its App store to license Android’s Google Play. Such changes will enable the company to decrease its

investment in application development, while still benefit from the latest applications. In the long

15

term, once RIM has the adequate users, they then could start developing its App store again and

better attract developers to develop applications that are specifically designed for the BlackBerry

smartphones.

Annual Phone and OS Release. Since technology is an industry that is constantly

innovating, RIM needs to keep up with its competitors. For the past 2 years, RIM had great difficulty

in releasing updates, as well as on-time product launches. Release dates should be sped up because

its competitors are releasing new devices every year. By releasing a new phone and OS updates

every year, RIM’s customers can enjoy the latest technology. It also allows RIM loyalists the option

to upgrade to a new phone if they feel that their old device is obsolete.

On Time Product Launch. In order for RIM to compete successfully in this market, RIM

has to be timely when launching its products. For instance, in December 2011, RIM announced that

the introduction of BlackBerry 10—powered by QNX Operating System—will be delayed until late

2012, from its original early 2012 plan.40

This delay is attributed to the unavailability of its high-

power QNX chipset, as RIM’s former CEO Lazaridis remarks, "As explained on our earnings call,

the broad engineering impact of this decision and certain other factors significantly influenced the

anticipated timing for the BlackBerry 10 devices." 41

This delay can hurt BlackBerry’s market share

as its biggest and more prevalent rival, Apple, is planning on launching the new iPhone 5 at that

same time. Furthermore, current users and investors aren’t happy with the product delay because they

believe the BlackBerry 10 will revitalize the company. Thus, timing is one of the most important

aspects of this turnaround strategy and demands management’s attention.42

Change the Company’s Culture. In an open letter to RIM’s former CEO Lazaridis, a

dissatisfied employee believes that the company is not leveraging its human capital and rewarding its

employees for taking risks. “You have many smart employees, many that have great ideas for the

16

future, but unfortunately the culture at RIM does not allow us to speak openly without having to

worry about the career-limiting effects.” 43

RIM should create a creative division—perhaps taking a

few employees from R&D—whose main responsibility lies in making these functional

improvements. Furthermore, to create a sense of community among BlackBerry users, RIM should

imbed in its software and make it widely known that professionals can send in their advice for

improving a program or function and receive incentives if their ideas are used. By doing so, end users

can continue to contribute ideas, on which RIM can improve its next-generation products. It is

extremely important for RIM to take advantage of its human capital and inputs from end users in

order to evoke desire among current and potential users.

Sell the Company

As RIM makes public its turnaround strategy, it is also important to include a downside

scenario so that equity holders and analysts alike may buy into management’s full adherence to

taking value creating steps in the future. In this case, we recommend that RIM also make public that

the company will once again give earnings guidance once the two-tiered product offering hits

market, as well as management’s willingness to seek out strategic options if such guidance is

unsatisfactory to shareholders or not met. This is a very important part of our recommendation for

turning around the company’s image as well as equity price, as it is a statement to the market that

value creating steps are to come in the future. Currently, the company’s equity price is floundering

due to a poor performance and lackluster growth prospects. With our recommendations, we hope to

foster renewed confidence in RIM’s capability to create products for its two main customer classes as

well as management’s dedication to acting in the best interest of shareholders, if the turnaround

strategy is ultimately not successful.

17

Appendix A: International Outlook

18

Appendix B: BlackBerry Market Share, U.S. vs. Indonesia

Appendix C: Research in Motion, Ltd. Stock Performance

Source: Yahoo Finance

19

Appendix D: Smartphone Comparison

20

Appendix E: Financial Data

Re

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(In

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Year

Revenue Growth

21

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22. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/rim-to-give-developers-prototypes-of-new-

blackberry-in-may.html rim give developer prototype

23. http://editorial.equities.com/technology/why-the-google-android-tablet-market-is-far-weaker-

than-it-seems/

24. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/rim-to-give-developers-prototypes-of-new-

blackberry-in-may.html rim give developer prototype

25. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/mar/30/rim-consumer-markets-

blackberry?newsfeed=true rim’s core strengths are weaknesses now

26. http://www.crn.com/news/client-devices/232301056/the-decline-of-blackberry-where-rim-

went-wrong.htm?pgno=3 decline of blackberry where rim went wrong

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27. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10793199

28. Blackberry Annual Reports 2007-2012 http://www.rim.com/investors/documents/

29. http://brandpositioning.blogspot.com/2009/01/blackberry.html pearl and storm are for

consumer market

30. http://www.crn.com/news/client-devices/232200396/rims-blackberry-mobile-fusion-solution-

to-monitor-android-ios-devices-too.htm

31. http://www.rim.com/investors/documents/pdf/annual/2011rim_ar.pdf annual report

32. http://brandpositioning.blogspot.com/2009/01/blackberry.html pearl and storm are for

consumer market

33. http://www.crn.com/news/client-devices/232200396/rims-blackberry-mobile-fusion-solution-

to-monitor-android-ios-devices-too.htm

34. http://www.bgr.com/2012/01/05/rim-reportedly-agrees-to-license-blackberry-software-to-

samsung-htc-and-others/

35. http://www.rim.com/investors/documents/pdf/annual/2011rim_ar.pdf annual report

36. http://us.blackberry.com/newsroom/success/banknegara.jsp

37. http://thenextweb.com/me/2010/08/28/5-countries-that-will-or-have-banned-blackberry/

38. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10951607

39. http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-mobile/skype-mobile/blackberry/

40. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57347002-94/rim-ceos-lied-about-blackberry-10-delay-

report-says/

41. Mike Lazaridis All Things D interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqh1XEMm6Dc&NR=1&feature=endscreen

42. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/blackberry-10-phones-rim_n_1153314.html

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43. http://www.bgr.com/2011/06/30/open-letter-to-blackberry-bosses-senior-rim-exec-tells-all-

as-company-crumbles-around-him/

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