Gerard Hallaren's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/114408/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/167549/comments?source=feed#comment-722096 722096
BTW if you are into saving money use a Novatel MiFi2200 on Sprint and then make and receive calls on your iPod Touch. Its what I often do .


On Oct 20 10:44 AM Mackerdude wrote:

> AT&T's high monthly rate seems to always get lost when considering
> the price of the iPhone though. And this has always confounded me.
> Why do "smart" people not factor in the rate of their monthly cell
> phone bill when considering the cost of a handset. If I'm going to
> pay $600 more for a two year contract with AT&T vs Sprint, then
> even if I pay $350 for a new Touch Pro 2 versus the old version of
> the iPhone for $99, that's still a $349 savings by going with the
> Sprint phone. Now people can argue about which handset is better,
> but its hard to argue the cost savings.
> PLEASE take the cost of your carrier's plan into consideration when
> measuring cost of a handset... This lack of consideration probably
> contributes to the fact that this country has such a problem with
> debt.]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:10:33 -0400
BTW if you are into saving money use a Novatel MiFi2200 on Sprint and then make and receive calls on your iPod Touch. Its what I often do .


On Oct 20 10:44 AM Mackerdude wrote:

> AT&T's high monthly rate seems to always get lost when considering
> the price of the iPhone though. And this has always confounded me.
> Why do "smart" people not factor in the rate of their monthly cell
> phone bill when considering the cost of a handset. If I'm going to
> pay $600 more for a two year contract with AT&T vs Sprint, then
> even if I pay $350 for a new Touch Pro 2 versus the old version of
> the iPhone for $99, that's still a $349 savings by going with the
> Sprint phone. Now people can argue about which handset is better,
> but its hard to argue the cost savings.
> PLEASE take the cost of your carrier's plan into consideration when
> measuring cost of a handset... This lack of consideration probably
> contributes to the fact that this country has such a problem with
> debt.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/167549/comments?source=feed#comment-722030 722030 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:29:46 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/164029/comments?source=feed#comment-697310 697310
My error and I apologize.]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:10:15 -0400
My error and I apologize.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/164029/comments?source=feed#comment-697306 697306
We give kudos to Palm for its continuing clarity on this issue. Palm's most excellent and responsive IR team, a presentation from March of 2009 on Palm's investor web site, and language in Palms most recent 10K and 10Q explain thoroughly and plainly how the company defers both revenue and cost using the subscription accounting. If you call Palm investor relations, I am highly confident you will be disabused of old notions of sell in and sell through.

When we discussed the matter with Palm, it indicated we were asking about things that no one had yet asked. That may be kind words, but the stock price tells us that many do not believe our estimate that fewer than 375,000 Sprint customers had activated a Pre as of August 28, 2009. .

Because of adverse reaction, we thought it important to step away from our industry research and don a ready CFA suit and clarify the point.

Below is an excerpt for the 9/17 10Q relating to revenue recognition. As you read this bear in mind that Sprint was Palm's largest customer in its August quarter. The two that speak loudest to me are:

We recognize revenues from sales of mobile devices under the terms of the applicable customer agreement upon transfer of title to the customer, provided that the sales price is fixed or determinable, collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligations remain.

VSOE is based on the price determined by management having the relevant authority when the element is not yet sold separately, but is expected to be sold in the marketplace within six months of the initial determination of the price by management.

Now if you really want to nitpick, Palm's concept of economic life seems flawed especially if the device can sit on a distributors shelf for the first six monhts.

Palm also has the greatest out in the world for all of this, FASB is about to change the rules for PDA and Handset recognition. When they do I believe Palm will make a thorough restatement of these periods and the issue will be buried.

Finally, 500,000 or more activations of a single phone would set a record at Sprint which usually announces such things. Common sense also says the pre is unlikely to represent 25% of postpaid handsets shipped.

The following is taken from Palm's 10Q filed on September 17, 2009 for the period ending August 28, 2009.

"Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenues from the sales of our mobile devices. We may periodically provide services and unspecified software free of charge to customers of Palm webOS products. Therefore, as required by generally accepted accounting principles, we recognize Palm webOS smartphone product revenues on a subscription basis. We recognize revenues and related direct product cost of revenues for our Palm webOS products on a straight-line basis over their currently estimated economic lives of 24 months. If the actual economic lives of our Palm webOS products are different than these estimates, we revise the economic lives we are using to recognize revenues and related direct product cost of revenues, which may result in a lack of comparability between products and/or periods. Certain other related period cost of revenues will be expensed as incurred. If we offer specified upgrade rights to our customers in connection with Palm webOS products for future delivery, we will defer commencement of revenue recognition until the future obligation is fulfilled, the right to the specified upgrade expires or vendor specific objective evidence, or VSOE, is established.

Revenues are recognized when earned in accordance with applicable accounting standards and guidance. We recognize revenues from sales of mobile devices under the terms of the applicable customer agreement upon transfer of title to the customer, provided that the sales price is fixed or determinable, collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligations remain. Sales to our customers are subject to agreements allowing for limited rights of return, price protection and rebates. Accordingly, revenues are reduced for our estimates of liability related to these rights. For Palm webOS products, returns are included in subscription accounting revenue in the period in which the return occurs. For other Palm products, the estimate for returns is recorded at the time the related sale is recognized and is adjusted periodically based on historical rates of returns and other related factors. The reserves for price protection and rebates are recorded at the time these programs are offered . Price protection is estimated based on specific programs, expected usage and historical experience. Rebates are estimated based on specific programs, actual wireless carrier purchase volumes and the expected percentage of customers that will redeem their rebates, which is estimated based on historical experience. Rebate estimates are refined over the program period as actual results are experienced. We have accrued rebate obligations of $51.2 million as of August 31, 2009 which were included in other accrued liabilities. Actual claims for returns, price protection and rebates may vary over time and could differ from our estimates.

Revenues from software arrangements with end users of our devices are recognized upon delivery of the software, provided that collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligations remain. For arrangements with multiple elements, we allocate revenues to each element using the residual method. When all of the undelivered elements are software-related, this allocation is based on VSOE of fair value of the undelivered items. VSOE is based on the price determined by management having the relevant authority when the element is not yet sold separately, but is expected to be sold in the marketplace within six months of the initial determination of the price by management. When the undelivered elements include non-software related items, this allocation is based on objective and reliable evidence of fair value. We defer the portion of the sale price equal to the fair value of the undelivered elements until they are delivered." ]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:08:12 -0400
We give kudos to Palm for its continuing clarity on this issue. Palm's most excellent and responsive IR team, a presentation from March of 2009 on Palm's investor web site, and language in Palms most recent 10K and 10Q explain thoroughly and plainly how the company defers both revenue and cost using the subscription accounting. If you call Palm investor relations, I am highly confident you will be disabused of old notions of sell in and sell through.

When we discussed the matter with Palm, it indicated we were asking about things that no one had yet asked. That may be kind words, but the stock price tells us that many do not believe our estimate that fewer than 375,000 Sprint customers had activated a Pre as of August 28, 2009. .

Because of adverse reaction, we thought it important to step away from our industry research and don a ready CFA suit and clarify the point.

Below is an excerpt for the 9/17 10Q relating to revenue recognition. As you read this bear in mind that Sprint was Palm's largest customer in its August quarter. The two that speak loudest to me are:

We recognize revenues from sales of mobile devices under the terms of the applicable customer agreement upon transfer of title to the customer, provided that the sales price is fixed or determinable, collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligations remain.

VSOE is based on the price determined by management having the relevant authority when the element is not yet sold separately, but is expected to be sold in the marketplace within six months of the initial determination of the price by management.

Now if you really want to nitpick, Palm's concept of economic life seems flawed especially if the device can sit on a distributors shelf for the first six monhts.

Palm also has the greatest out in the world for all of this, FASB is about to change the rules for PDA and Handset recognition. When they do I believe Palm will make a thorough restatement of these periods and the issue will be buried.

Finally, 500,000 or more activations of a single phone would set a record at Sprint which usually announces such things. Common sense also says the pre is unlikely to represent 25% of postpaid handsets shipped.

The following is taken from Palm's 10Q filed on September 17, 2009 for the period ending August 28, 2009.

"Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenues from the sales of our mobile devices. We may periodically provide services and unspecified software free of charge to customers of Palm webOS products. Therefore, as required by generally accepted accounting principles, we recognize Palm webOS smartphone product revenues on a subscription basis. We recognize revenues and related direct product cost of revenues for our Palm webOS products on a straight-line basis over their currently estimated economic lives of 24 months. If the actual economic lives of our Palm webOS products are different than these estimates, we revise the economic lives we are using to recognize revenues and related direct product cost of revenues, which may result in a lack of comparability between products and/or periods. Certain other related period cost of revenues will be expensed as incurred. If we offer specified upgrade rights to our customers in connection with Palm webOS products for future delivery, we will defer commencement of revenue recognition until the future obligation is fulfilled, the right to the specified upgrade expires or vendor specific objective evidence, or VSOE, is established.

Revenues are recognized when earned in accordance with applicable accounting standards and guidance. We recognize revenues from sales of mobile devices under the terms of the applicable customer agreement upon transfer of title to the customer, provided that the sales price is fixed or determinable, collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligations remain. Sales to our customers are subject to agreements allowing for limited rights of return, price protection and rebates. Accordingly, revenues are reduced for our estimates of liability related to these rights. For Palm webOS products, returns are included in subscription accounting revenue in the period in which the return occurs. For other Palm products, the estimate for returns is recorded at the time the related sale is recognized and is adjusted periodically based on historical rates of returns and other related factors. The reserves for price protection and rebates are recorded at the time these programs are offered . Price protection is estimated based on specific programs, expected usage and historical experience. Rebates are estimated based on specific programs, actual wireless carrier purchase volumes and the expected percentage of customers that will redeem their rebates, which is estimated based on historical experience. Rebate estimates are refined over the program period as actual results are experienced. We have accrued rebate obligations of $51.2 million as of August 31, 2009 which were included in other accrued liabilities. Actual claims for returns, price protection and rebates may vary over time and could differ from our estimates.

Revenues from software arrangements with end users of our devices are recognized upon delivery of the software, provided that collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligations remain. For arrangements with multiple elements, we allocate revenues to each element using the residual method. When all of the undelivered elements are software-related, this allocation is based on VSOE of fair value of the undelivered items. VSOE is based on the price determined by management having the relevant authority when the element is not yet sold separately, but is expected to be sold in the marketplace within six months of the initial determination of the price by management. When the undelivered elements include non-software related items, this allocation is based on objective and reliable evidence of fair value. We defer the portion of the sale price equal to the fair value of the undelivered elements until they are delivered." ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/162120/comments?source=feed#comment-685794 685794
Without a doubt the customer and device mix is material to understanding Palm's future. I am amazed our SEC has not asked for that disclosure. It is far from a trade secret within the industry.
]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:28:00 -0400
Without a doubt the customer and device mix is material to understanding Palm's future. I am amazed our SEC has not asked for that disclosure. It is far from a trade secret within the industry.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/160850/comments?source=feed#comment-672625 672625
IMHO: there should have been fewer Pres in the sample. ]]> Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:37:59 -0400
IMHO: there should have been fewer Pres in the sample. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/160839/comments?source=feed#comment-671926 671926 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:10:28 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/158992/comments?source=feed#comment-653359 653359 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:21:32 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/152358/comments?source=feed#comment-607753 607753
That would be more than half of the postpaid CDMA phones Sprint shipped in the last three weeks of June. (Sprint sold about 753 thousand postpaid CDMA phones per month last quarter)

We think Sprint sold more like 175K sold through at the end of June and another 50K for the first half of July.

Notice that Sprint did not announce that the Pre set any shipment records. Figure they did about 150K Samsung Instincts in the first week when it launched last year!

BTW: Sprint's churn was likely higher in June than in April or May.

There is a good chance WebOS can save Palm and keep it independent. Will there be disappointed investors once these number become obvious? Almost certainly.

gerard@townhallresearc...]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:12:59 -0400
That would be more than half of the postpaid CDMA phones Sprint shipped in the last three weeks of June. (Sprint sold about 753 thousand postpaid CDMA phones per month last quarter)

We think Sprint sold more like 175K sold through at the end of June and another 50K for the first half of July.

Notice that Sprint did not announce that the Pre set any shipment records. Figure they did about 150K Samsung Instincts in the first week when it launched last year!

BTW: Sprint's churn was likely higher in June than in April or May.

There is a good chance WebOS can save Palm and keep it independent. Will there be disappointed investors once these number become obvious? Almost certainly.

gerard@townhallresearc...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/146859/comments?source=feed#comment-574587 574587
I've been wrong on this stock since shortly after the February Quarter EPS report. The Pre is a decent phone, good, not great as a former Treo and current Window's phone user it seemed a little quirky and missing some key features. BTW it is noticeably slower then my year old HTC Touch Diamond.

There is enough to the Pre that the company should be able to obtain equity financing. But at what price? Assume it was profitable then it would have 216MM total potential shares issued. $3.5Bn market cap is a lot for a singe product company in a very competitive market. ]]> Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:44:21 -0400
I've been wrong on this stock since shortly after the February Quarter EPS report. The Pre is a decent phone, good, not great as a former Treo and current Window's phone user it seemed a little quirky and missing some key features. BTW it is noticeably slower then my year old HTC Touch Diamond.

There is enough to the Pre that the company should be able to obtain equity financing. But at what price? Assume it was profitable then it would have 216MM total potential shares issued. $3.5Bn market cap is a lot for a singe product company in a very competitive market. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/136879/comments?source=feed#comment-498724 498724
I like your idea aobut different pricing over the course of a day or week. Cellcos have been doing that for years with voice. Why not data?

Another solution is to make mobile data pricing progressive. For example, pay a flat fee for a fixed amount of minutes or GB, the cost of going over should not be punative. Incremental use should cost less not more.

]]> Mon, 11 May 2009 08:46:23 -0400
I like your idea aobut different pricing over the course of a day or week. Cellcos have been doing that for years with voice. Why not data?

Another solution is to make mobile data pricing progressive. For example, pay a flat fee for a fixed amount of minutes or GB, the cost of going over should not be punative. Incremental use should cost less not more.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/135074/comments?source=feed#comment-490194 490194
Boost prepaids are not on the wholsale line. They are reported as prepaid subscribers. Virgin Mobile, Kindle and other wholesalers are on the wholesale line.

Boost has a text system problem that Sprint says should be fixed by May 7 (coincidentially the original plan for shipping the Pre).

The kindle accounted for about 200,000 wholesale subs at the end of last year.
]]> Tue, 05 May 2009 10:49:31 -0400
Boost prepaids are not on the wholsale line. They are reported as prepaid subscribers. Virgin Mobile, Kindle and other wholesalers are on the wholesale line.

Boost has a text system problem that Sprint says should be fixed by May 7 (coincidentially the original plan for shipping the Pre).

The kindle accounted for about 200,000 wholesale subs at the end of last year.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/134833/comments?source=feed#comment-487676 487676
On May 03 12:54 PM Aryamehr wrote:

> Please remember that the Pre has raised the bar so much that the
> competition is reeling with chaos. They just don't know how to counter
> the WebOS and what the Pre will do to their bottom line. How will
> Verizon compete with Sprint when the Pre is head and shoulders superior
> to their best Smart phone, that costs at least $50 more per month
> for their 'simply everything plan?' How does ATT continue to steal
> Smart phone customers from Sprint when the Pre is launched? Isn't
> it patently obvious that if Sprint has a better Smart phone at a
> monthly cost of $50 less than comparable plans from ATT & VZ,
> that the bottom line for both these companies will be negatively
> effected. This is why Palm and Sprint have witnessed much maligned
> pervasive spin against their companies. Let's just look at why Palm
> picked Sprint. First Sprint is the only company with 4G capabilities
> and by the end of this year they will have 4G available in ten metro
> areas from Las Vegas and Portland on the West Coast to New York on
> the East Coast. At this moment neither ATT nor VZ will have anything
> to offer other than hyperbole or spin about their future 4G. On another
> note Sprint has the most reliable 3G network in the nation, according
> to indipendent surveys. Now couple this with the savings of $50 month
> and what you will have is the best Smart phone at a substantial monthly
> discount from what ATT and VZ offer. In summary, the Best smart phone,
> on the fastest and most reliable network at a substantially lower
> monthly cost. Is this not compelling enough? Now do you see why the
> spin masters are out in droves? The fact is both Palm and Sprint
> are going to do extremely well from the day the Pre is launched,
> the only question is logistics and execution.]]> Sun, 03 May 2009 14:34:17 -0400
On May 03 12:54 PM Aryamehr wrote:

> Please remember that the Pre has raised the bar so much that the
> competition is reeling with chaos. They just don't know how to counter
> the WebOS and what the Pre will do to their bottom line. How will
> Verizon compete with Sprint when the Pre is head and shoulders superior
> to their best Smart phone, that costs at least $50 more per month
> for their 'simply everything plan?' How does ATT continue to steal
> Smart phone customers from Sprint when the Pre is launched? Isn't
> it patently obvious that if Sprint has a better Smart phone at a
> monthly cost of $50 less than comparable plans from ATT & VZ,
> that the bottom line for both these companies will be negatively
> effected. This is why Palm and Sprint have witnessed much maligned
> pervasive spin against their companies. Let's just look at why Palm
> picked Sprint. First Sprint is the only company with 4G capabilities
> and by the end of this year they will have 4G available in ten metro
> areas from Las Vegas and Portland on the West Coast to New York on
> the East Coast. At this moment neither ATT nor VZ will have anything
> to offer other than hyperbole or spin about their future 4G. On another
> note Sprint has the most reliable 3G network in the nation, according
> to indipendent surveys. Now couple this with the savings of $50 month
> and what you will have is the best Smart phone at a substantial monthly
> discount from what ATT and VZ offer. In summary, the Best smart phone,
> on the fastest and most reliable network at a substantially lower
> monthly cost. Is this not compelling enough? Now do you see why the
> spin masters are out in droves? The fact is both Palm and Sprint
> are going to do extremely well from the day the Pre is launched,
> the only question is logistics and execution.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/134833/comments?source=feed#comment-487675 487675

On May 03 10:06 AM User 406375 wrote:

> I'm not quite sure I understand the logic behind "With its customer
> losses [Sprint] has more pricing flexibility than other networks".
> Sprint's Simply Everything plan is less expensive than that offered
> by any of the other carriers (and arguably more reliable, though
> YMMV). Doesn't $S have an obligation to its shareholders as well
> as its customers? Both would suffer, I suspect.]]> Sun, 03 May 2009 14:32:16 -0400

On May 03 10:06 AM User 406375 wrote:

> I'm not quite sure I understand the logic behind "With its customer
> losses [Sprint] has more pricing flexibility than other networks".
> Sprint's Simply Everything plan is less expensive than that offered
> by any of the other carriers (and arguably more reliable, though
> YMMV). Doesn't $S have an obligation to its shareholders as well
> as its customers? Both would suffer, I suspect.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/134833/comments?source=feed#comment-487673 487673

On May 03 06:08 AM GF wrote:

> I am sure you know nothing about a smartphone.It looks like all the
> phone are the same. LOL...]]> Sun, 03 May 2009 14:30:23 -0400

On May 03 06:08 AM GF wrote:

> I am sure you know nothing about a smartphone.It looks like all the
> phone are the same. LOL...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/131463/comments?source=feed#comment-467762 467762 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:44:42 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/123468/comments?source=feed#comment-409022 409022 AAPL: disagree, we only cover the phone side and there they are leaps ahead.
GOOG: agree philosophically, Android is what we know about and that is going well but for GOOG is a VERY long term game.
AMZN: no opinion but it is one of the the best places to buy a new mobile phone and contract.]]> Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:37:39 -0500 AAPL: disagree, we only cover the phone side and there they are leaps ahead.
GOOG: agree philosophically, Android is what we know about and that is going well but for GOOG is a VERY long term game.
AMZN: no opinion but it is one of the the best places to buy a new mobile phone and contract.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/122149/comments?source=feed#comment-401613 401613 www.comcast.net/tv/ful.../ to see TV shows. I could not find the page for the advertised moveis.


On Feb 24 11:03 AM User 363339 wrote:

> Don't forget that the very cable companies that everyone loves to
> bash, are also some of the largest ISP's in the country. The Wall
> Street Journal is reporting that some major MOS's have begun talks
> with cable network providers - where cable programming would be available
> online, but only to those who subscribe to their internet service.
> Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been talking with Viacom, Time
> Warner and NBC Universal. This idea would give MSO's a unique leg-up
> over satelite companies and telcos. The providers of these shows
> would also get the added bonus of having their shows supported by
> advertising.]]> Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:30:58 -0500 www.comcast.net/tv/ful.../ to see TV shows. I could not find the page for the advertised moveis.


On Feb 24 11:03 AM User 363339 wrote:

> Don't forget that the very cable companies that everyone loves to
> bash, are also some of the largest ISP's in the country. The Wall
> Street Journal is reporting that some major MOS's have begun talks
> with cable network providers - where cable programming would be available
> online, but only to those who subscribe to their internet service.
> Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been talking with Viacom, Time
> Warner and NBC Universal. This idea would give MSO's a unique leg-up
> over satelite companies and telcos. The providers of these shows
> would also get the added bonus of having their shows supported by
> advertising.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/122149/comments?source=feed#comment-401602 401602
The reason is the national switch to digital tv. Nearly every Pay TV carrier is offering new entry level packages with prices ranging from free to about $30/month though the $10-$13 price is most dominant. We expect the switch to digital tv will add about 5 million new pay customers from in the 15 months ending 9/09. (note this is not net new) We exoect most of these will ultimately figure our their converter box and go back to broadcast.

In the meantime, digital broadcast TV is offering a comparable to superior experience to cable. In our house, the picture and sound for the Oscars, Grammies, and Superbowl were all better in broadcast than from Comcast's digital service.

The future is about free and low cost video entertainment. This means digital broadcast and internet video. Don't let the industry growth numbers fool you. It will be short lived. The rules are changing and digital and mobile TV standards give broadcaster their first break since Eisenhower's first term when color standards were ratified. ]]> Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:21:48 -0500
The reason is the national switch to digital tv. Nearly every Pay TV carrier is offering new entry level packages with prices ranging from free to about $30/month though the $10-$13 price is most dominant. We expect the switch to digital tv will add about 5 million new pay customers from in the 15 months ending 9/09. (note this is not net new) We exoect most of these will ultimately figure our their converter box and go back to broadcast.

In the meantime, digital broadcast TV is offering a comparable to superior experience to cable. In our house, the picture and sound for the Oscars, Grammies, and Superbowl were all better in broadcast than from Comcast's digital service.

The future is about free and low cost video entertainment. This means digital broadcast and internet video. Don't let the industry growth numbers fool you. It will be short lived. The rules are changing and digital and mobile TV standards give broadcaster their first break since Eisenhower's first term when color standards were ratified. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/120027/comments?source=feed#comment-385724 385724
RIMM's two advantages -- push email and executive cachet -- have disappeared and the company has no replacements. Storm is a very nice me too phone, and the other new models are OK but not compelling. Not such a good position in the face of all phones getting smarter.

The sad thing is management believes its own B.S. about conquering the consumer and winning when it goes toe to toe with Apple. ]]> Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:55:01 -0500
RIMM's two advantages -- push email and executive cachet -- have disappeared and the company has no replacements. Storm is a very nice me too phone, and the other new models are OK but not compelling. Not such a good position in the face of all phones getting smarter.

The sad thing is management believes its own B.S. about conquering the consumer and winning when it goes toe to toe with Apple. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/120169/comments?source=feed#comment-385716 385716
RIMM's two advantages -- push email and executive cachet -- have disappeared and the company has no replacements. Storm is a very nice me too phone, and the other new models are OK but not compelling. Not such a good position in the face of all phones getting smarter.

The sad thing is management believes its own B.S. about conquering the consumer and winning when it goes toe to toe with Apple. ]]> Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:53:02 -0500
RIMM's two advantages -- push email and executive cachet -- have disappeared and the company has no replacements. Storm is a very nice me too phone, and the other new models are OK but not compelling. Not such a good position in the face of all phones getting smarter.

The sad thing is management believes its own B.S. about conquering the consumer and winning when it goes toe to toe with Apple. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/112153/comments?source=feed#comment-339321 339321
I've great respect for your work. It is thoughtful, creative and challenging to my own analysis. You have influenced my thinking many times. However, in this instance, as with WAVE, I will stick to my guns.

A MicroUSB standard is a good thing for consumers but does little or nothing to help final demand for RIMM, Nokia, Apple, or any individual handset company. The reason is simple. A standard power supply reduces differentiation and increases commoditization of the industry. Maybe, just maybe, the small reduction in the cost of owning and using a mobile phone may trigger a elastic response from the market. However, we are talking about $20 out of a $6,000 purchase.

About the only impact is that this is another nip out of Motorola's hide. It was one of the first to lean hard on Micro USB as a standard power interface. Unfortunately this "competitive advantage" did not prevent Motorola’s massive share loss. So who cares now? I sure don't.

With respect to RIMM, everything it brought to the market -- push email, secure email and status to the user is gone.

There are many suppliers of push email many that will even work within an enterprise's security system. Even lowly Sprint will push email to virtually any phone, not just smart ones, for $10/month. Though with Yahoo, Google and MSN improving this is not much of an advantage for Sprint.

The iPhone is the new status symbol. Forget RIMM, it has no scale and management is far to righteous for reality.

Respectfully

Gerard6656
]]> Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:35:45 -0500
I've great respect for your work. It is thoughtful, creative and challenging to my own analysis. You have influenced my thinking many times. However, in this instance, as with WAVE, I will stick to my guns.

A MicroUSB standard is a good thing for consumers but does little or nothing to help final demand for RIMM, Nokia, Apple, or any individual handset company. The reason is simple. A standard power supply reduces differentiation and increases commoditization of the industry. Maybe, just maybe, the small reduction in the cost of owning and using a mobile phone may trigger a elastic response from the market. However, we are talking about $20 out of a $6,000 purchase.

About the only impact is that this is another nip out of Motorola's hide. It was one of the first to lean hard on Micro USB as a standard power interface. Unfortunately this "competitive advantage" did not prevent Motorola’s massive share loss. So who cares now? I sure don't.

With respect to RIMM, everything it brought to the market -- push email, secure email and status to the user is gone.

There are many suppliers of push email many that will even work within an enterprise's security system. Even lowly Sprint will push email to virtually any phone, not just smart ones, for $10/month. Though with Yahoo, Google and MSN improving this is not much of an advantage for Sprint.

The iPhone is the new status symbol. Forget RIMM, it has no scale and management is far to righteous for reality.

Respectfully

Gerard6656
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/84061/comments?source=feed#comment-210886 210886
DISCLOSURE: Currently neither LONG nor SHORT NextWAVE, there are too many other compelling situations.]]> Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:23:36 -0400
DISCLOSURE: Currently neither LONG nor SHORT NextWAVE, there are too many other compelling situations.]]>