With Apple (AAPL) In The Game, No Confidence For RIM (RIMM)

Telecom & Wireless

Published: June 25, 2008 5:39 am

Wall St. is getting nervous that RIM (RIMM) could lose its luster as it moves from providing handsets for business into the consumer market. Apple (AAPL) is sitting there along with Nokia (NOK) and new software from Google (GOOG).

Perhaps the RIMM bears have too little faith in the company. If Apple can do well with consumer smartphones. why can’t the creator of the Blackberry?

As one analyst told The Wall Street Journal, "RIM has little ability to dramatically improve its share at its two largest customers." Those customers would be AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless. But, the last anyone heard, sales were still driven by consumer demand, a fact that the popularity of the iPhone has proved in spades.

RIMM is creating more smartphones for the high end consumer market. It would be stupid to say the company cannot get there from here.

Over the last year, shares in RIM are up 160%. Apple’s are only 50% higher during that period. Some may say that the run-up means RIM has a long way to fall. The other way to look at it is that the company knows how to master the handset market and that is not about to end.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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