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BlackBerry Z10, Q10 don’t help share price

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For many people it seemed a long wait until the arrival of BlackBerry’s new BB10 operating system and the first devices that would run it, the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10. The ailing fortunes of RIM and the BlackBerry platform had been well documented, and the revamped OS and first smartphones to release using it, were seen almost as a last-ditch attempt to turn things around for the company. However, it seems the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 have not helped share prices.

The BlackBerry 10 OS and the BlackBerry Q10 and Z10 smartphones were pretty well received and for a while it seemed they could lead to the rejuvenation of BlackBerry. However in the three months to June 1 shares have plummeted and an $84 million loss has just been reported. While this is a better result than the same period in 2012 when there was a loss of $518 million, it’s hardly the turnaround that the company and analysts had predicted.

RIM (Research in Motion) even changed the company name to BlackBerry, maybe in a bid to disassociate itself with its previous troubled times. However, BlackBerry reports that there will also be an operating loss for the quarter that ends in September. On Friday in New York, shares closed down 28%. The company did not give details of the number of BB10 handsets that were sold over this quarter, but did reveal that shipments of new handsets had increased. Revenue over the quarter rose to $3.1 billion over the same quarter last year when revenue was $2.8 billion.

Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry CEO, appears to still be assured that BB10 and future devices will be successful and said that the launch was still in the “early stages,” according to the BBC. He also said that the rollout of BB10 globally would continue to be the focus of the company, and that investments to support this would be increasing over the following few quarters.

Morningstar analyst Brian Collelo said that this news “doesn’t bode well for the initial BlackBerry 10 launch, particularly the Z10, and went on to say that losses for the second quarter don’t “bode well for the Q10 either.” Meanwhile Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research feels that BlackBerry falls somewhere in the middle of the market now, as neither a high-end phone maker nor a budget provider. This position and the low volumes associated with it means it’s “difficult to make great margin,” and Ernst added, “I would say the outlook is quite negative.”

It will certainly be interesting to see how BlackBerry fares over the upcoming Q3. However, in BlackBerry 10’s initial stages it looks as though the new OS and devices running it have not been enough to revive the prosperity of the company. We’d like to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think Heins is being over-confident about the future of BB10? Let us know with your comments.

Comments

9 thoughts on “BlackBerry Z10, Q10 don’t help share price”

  1. saalnaz says:

    I used to have soft spot for BBs but not sure if. I still do…too many lies by old and new management…also, porting android apps to bb10 is a bit pathetic..like many said, if i wanted droid apps i would buy. A droid phone…guess what those were correct…i ended up buying htc one 2 actually for the household…htc one is on diferent level of BB phones…no comparison…
    Speaking of BBs..i actually never bought one for myself ever…they were always given to me from work including the new z10 which has been sitting in my drawer since i bought the HTC One and i have configured the echange to this phone…i only bought bb7 for my wife and it was the biggest mistake because that OS was as bad as its predecessors..my wife also has now HTC one…we never even mention BBs…i think its too late for BBs to survive…the droids have so much going for them against any other brand at the moment in terms of hardware, software…the various brands and builds..most importantly the google apps…

    1. DPJW1 says:

      Wow, your company allows you to use an Android device with all its flagrant malware? Companies need to be careful. Don’t know what you’re problem is with the z10. I use it for work and its fantastic – my wife has one too. BB7 is outdated.. I’ll agree with you there.. but with the Q/Z10, I can’t say that I understand your problem with it – solid and efficient. HTC one is a good personal phone but I disagree that as a company phone the BB10’s aren’t up there.. beats iphone for sure for the UI. Yeah I know the stock took a beating fom Wallstreet’s expectation but the fact remains that BB is playing catch up and transitioning right now and it is a very tough position for them. They have to control their resources and at the same time spend a lot of it to get the new OS going. In all fairness the q10 has only been on the market for a very short time and the q5 only just got released – not refelect in the quarterly report. The doom and gloom is going to hurt consumers from looking at BB for sure.. but after using several devices you can’t say they didn’t do a great job with their latest product.

      1. saalnaz says:

        Well..the bb10 is not yet configured to bes…as for security, i think its an over blown issue…many organizations nowadays allow their staff to use any platform they want and my company also is heading that way too i believe…people no longer are interested in BBs like they used to…atleast not me..the stuff you get onbphones like HTC one and samsungs are way too. Advanced for anything BBs throw at you…its not only about emails and BBm as BBM now is virtually replaced by whatsapp…its about the who experience…
        But i agree with you that Bb10 is not bad and its actually good however, for me, being a first time user of droid and having heard about the issues droids have, the HTC one dont have them like lagging etc but the funny thing is Z10 lags and the BB platform is still laggy…pages dont move as smoothly..it takes a while to open ertain apps…again, the app store lags before it opens…im not sure why BB cant fix this issue permanently…it still needs a bit of work to get to where new droids are and by the time its there droids will be on another level i feel…

        1. DPJW1 says:

          Funny, I get no lag with my z10. Considering it doesn’t have the beefed up specs that tend to drain the battery and require a bigger device to package a bigger battery. Battery life is really good for me at easily 11-12 hours gets me through the day with moderate use.. and for me I like the 4.2″ screen .. big enough and yet I can still type and reach the entire phone with one thumb. Wrt to security just watch the fox news story that I posted in the comment reply above yours regarding the risk using Android. Security is never a problem until its broken. BB is still the safest out there.. you can’t knock em for that.
          I’m glad you don’t get lag with your HTC.. but it is a major complaint with the Android phones due to its OS .. that’s why they need the bigger specs, get more battery drain and need to have a bigger device to compensate.. but to each their own.

  2. rbrx24 says:

    I purchased my first Blackberry (the Q10) about a week ago, having used the iPhone, Samsung, and Palm products in the past. The Q10 is definitely worth trying, even if you end up buying something else. The physical keyboard is a huge improvement over Apple’s virtual keyboard, allowing one to do real work (writing long e-mails and notes). I can easily touch-type on the phone with minimal mistakes. The space bar has more play than I would like, but otherwise the tactile feedback is excellent. Email, contacts, calendar, tasks and notes all sync with Exchange. The multi-tasking actually makes sense, and the UI provides easy access and tracking of multiple e-mail, messaging, and Linked In accounts. Call quality is very good. It would be nice to have more apps (especially when using the phone for play), but the core functionality of the Q10 is first rate.

  3. William Jelbert says:

    Stock analysts seem to be forgetting that the Z10 didn’t launch until the end of Q1 , yet they are expecting the 10 OS to have made a difference to profit in Q1….silly billies.

  4. wardell says:

    “Blackberry lags” I have the Q 10 and I have no hesitency, lag or slowdown call it what you will. The multi tasking efficiency rocks, battery life second to none. The key board is awesome, it’s a phone that part times as a mini computer. Yes not 3 million apps, sorry I don’t have time for that.I believe BB is moving into an area that will see limited competition, the recreation phone market will reach saturation, that’s where Blackberry will see a rise comparatively to little competition. Q5 is being released in India …with a government looking in on your every move what kind of communication would you choose?

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