A 4G LTE version of Research In Motion's (RIMM +3.5%) PlayBook tablet will finally arrive on July 31, MobileSyrup reports. The device is said to feature a dual-core 1.5 GHz. processor, dual cameras, and 32GB of storage, and carry a $550 price tag. Given the PlayBook's negligible market share and the consumer preference for Wi-Fi-only tablets, odds are against the launch having much of an impact. (yesterday) [View news story]
I think this might be a home run-- or a complete miss. Business execs will like the 4G LTE when traveling and will be way preferred over 3G. But if it crashes, it will just dig Playbook deeper into their already morbidly deep hole.
Research In Motion At Waterloo: Prepare For Bankruptcy [View article]
Guys, pretty sure that was sarcastic lol. "Predict the future with such definite language" gave me a chuckle. This is a terribly written and researched article. Some things in this are just down right wrong. I like SA, but not when garbage like this comes up.
RIM Investing $100 Million To Build Developer Community -- Is It Too Late? [View article]
I disagree with your comment on RIM's "bribery". It is absolutely out of desperation, but not for the reasons you mention. RIM is not producing a bad platform (well, I hypothesize), but it has an incredibly bad rap right now. I mean, *really* bad. Like you said, "why on earth [would anyone] develop QNX apps, with a target market of zilch"? Hardly anyone would. So Blackberry needs to shell out a lot of money to make sure their app market increases. It's a huge priority for them, and for any smart phone. If it takes 100 million dollars, so be it. God knows that if this fails, so does RIM. Might as well go all out.
I disagree with your programmer comment about 10k being just enough to write and test a simple app. I think you misunderstand what "simple" means. 10k can easily be spent on app development, but app development can also cost well under that. Not everything has to be Instagrm.
I think this is a good move on RIM's part, especially making their platform more transparent. People are doubting them, and it's good they're releasing Alpha prototypes. It might instill confidence and stir up some long forgotten loyalty.
U.S. retail video game industry sales fell 28% Y/Y in May to $516.5M, per NPD. That's just a little better than April's 32% drop. Software sales fell a "mere" 16% thanks to the strong reception for Activision's (ATVI) Diablo III (previous), but hardware sales fell 39% as the big-3 consoles continue to show their age. NPD notes there have been 27% fewer game releases YTD than there were at the same point last year, and thinks sales could pick up in 2H as new titles arrive. [View news story]
A lot of the gaming market is shifting to mobile phones. They offer dollar games on a platform that you already own, whereas traditional games have a much higher price tag (closer to 40 dollars) and you have to buy a separate console (closer to 250 dollars).
By no means does that mean the traditional gaming industry is failing. Not at all. The last generation of games released (ie PS3, XBox 360 and Wii) did phenomenally. Absolutely phenomenally. Wii just hit the 100 million sold mark, I believe. It was Nintendo's most successful console to date. And although it might seem as though those consoles were released just yesterday, it has already been seven years. If anyone had any inkling to buy a PS3 or an XBox or a Wii, they would have done so already.
But Nintendo is coming out with a new product, the Wii U, that I expect will blow people away. Although it hasn't been received well by fans, neither was the original Wii. It is receiving more or less the same reaction that their most successful release ever received, so I am confidently not worried. Both Sony and Microsoft are working on their new console release, but that has been incredibly hushed and will probably hit the markets Christmas 2013.
The gaming industry is interesting. It swings from high highs to low lows. I think we are going to reach a high point very soon. I will probably invest my money in Nintendo. I believe the Wii U and some new releases for the 3DS, plus the price drop in the 3DS, will not only strongly increase sales, but also restore the consumer's trust in Nintendo. I think their stock price will reflect that within the next year or so.
Buy Groupon: An Examination Of Merchant Satisfaction And Accounting Shows That Issues Are Being Resolved [View article]
I disagree with most of the complaints on there. As someone who has used Groupon multiple times, I have never had an issue. Most of these complaints are centered around people who did not read the fine print, something that will give you problems no matter what you buy.
Groupon very clearly states its refund policy and other terms on each individual product. If the consumer does not take the time to read said terms, the fault lies on the consumer. If you are buying a huge vacation package worth quite a lot of money, you'd think the customer would take more responsibility than a simple "click" with their mouse.
It should also be noted that most of the websites you included are specifically complaint sites. It will inevitably be a very biased turn out. Most of these consumers are also blindsiding a lot of facts. For instance, on this site (http://bit.ly/Kt01Iv) a woman named "HB" was screaming about a scam and how they robbed her of her money. However, the next day it was all sorted out and she was incredibly impressed with the customer service both from Groupon and the third party company. She then goes on to ramble about all the successful purchases she's made on Groupon and how wonderful the site is. She conveniently left that out in her initial complaint post. These people are all simply bitter that they did not read the fine print or take responsibility for their own money and their opinions should not be taken seriously, IMO.
I definitely believe, however, that these problems will dramatically reduce in the coming months. Groupon's stock may not be doing well, but it is definitely generating a nice amount of revenue. Part of that revenue should be going towards their customer service department and possible screenings of companies. It seems as though when Groupon does get in contact that they are very forgiving and helpful, so once they require the resources to become more available I believe the company will do very well.
Going to do a bit more research, but definitely thinking about buying the stock.
A 4G LTE version of Research In Motion's (RIMM +3.5%) PlayBook tablet will finally arrive on July 31, MobileSyrup reports. The device is said to feature a dual-core 1.5 GHz. processor, dual cameras, and 32GB of storage, and carry a $550 price tag. Given the PlayBook's negligible market share and the consumer preference for Wi-Fi-only tablets, odds are against the launch having much of an impact. (yesterday) [View news story]
Research In Motion At Waterloo: Prepare For Bankruptcy [View article]
RIM Investing $100 Million To Build Developer Community -- Is It Too Late? [View article]
I disagree with your programmer comment about 10k being just enough to write and test a simple app. I think you misunderstand what "simple" means. 10k can easily be spent on app development, but app development can also cost well under that. Not everything has to be Instagrm.
I think this is a good move on RIM's part, especially making their platform more transparent. People are doubting them, and it's good they're releasing Alpha prototypes. It might instill confidence and stir up some long forgotten loyalty.
U.S. retail video game industry sales fell 28% Y/Y in May to $516.5M, per NPD. That's just a little better than April's 32% drop. Software sales fell a "mere" 16% thanks to the strong reception for Activision's (ATVI) Diablo III (previous), but hardware sales fell 39% as the big-3 consoles continue to show their age. NPD notes there have been 27% fewer game releases YTD than there were at the same point last year, and thinks sales could pick up in 2H as new titles arrive. [View news story]
By no means does that mean the traditional gaming industry is failing. Not at all. The last generation of games released (ie PS3, XBox 360 and Wii) did phenomenally. Absolutely phenomenally. Wii just hit the 100 million sold mark, I believe. It was Nintendo's most successful console to date. And although it might seem as though those consoles were released just yesterday, it has already been seven years. If anyone had any inkling to buy a PS3 or an XBox or a Wii, they would have done so already.
But Nintendo is coming out with a new product, the Wii U, that I expect will blow people away. Although it hasn't been received well by fans, neither was the original Wii. It is receiving more or less the same reaction that their most successful release ever received, so I am confidently not worried. Both Sony and Microsoft are working on their new console release, but that has been incredibly hushed and will probably hit the markets Christmas 2013.
The gaming industry is interesting. It swings from high highs to low lows. I think we are going to reach a high point very soon. I will probably invest my money in Nintendo. I believe the Wii U and some new releases for the 3DS, plus the price drop in the 3DS, will not only strongly increase sales, but also restore the consumer's trust in Nintendo. I think their stock price will reflect that within the next year or so.
Buy Groupon: An Examination Of Merchant Satisfaction And Accounting Shows That Issues Are Being Resolved [View article]
Groupon very clearly states its refund policy and other terms on each individual product. If the consumer does not take the time to read said terms, the fault lies on the consumer. If you are buying a huge vacation package worth quite a lot of money, you'd think the customer would take more responsibility than a simple "click" with their mouse.
It should also be noted that most of the websites you included are specifically complaint sites. It will inevitably be a very biased turn out. Most of these consumers are also blindsiding a lot of facts. For instance, on this site (http://bit.ly/Kt01Iv) a woman named "HB" was screaming about a scam and how they robbed her of her money. However, the next day it was all sorted out and she was incredibly impressed with the customer service both from Groupon and the third party company. She then goes on to ramble about all the successful purchases she's made on Groupon and how wonderful the site is. She conveniently left that out in her initial complaint post. These people are all simply bitter that they did not read the fine print or take responsibility for their own money and their opinions should not be taken seriously, IMO.
I definitely believe, however, that these problems will dramatically reduce in the coming months. Groupon's stock may not be doing well, but it is definitely generating a nice amount of revenue. Part of that revenue should be going towards their customer service department and possible screenings of companies. It seems as though when Groupon does get in contact that they are very forgiving and helpful, so once they require the resources to become more available I believe the company will do very well.
Going to do a bit more research, but definitely thinking about buying the stock.