RIM Q2 Earnings Are Bleak, Q3 Expectations are Higher

From DailyTech: RIM is falling rapidly in popularity with consumers all around the world leaving the business-centric smartphones behind as consumers move in droves to Android-based smartphones and the iPhone. RIM is hurting so badly that some have called for the company to sell off all the IP it holds in an effort to get investors some measure of return on their money.

RIM is set to report earnings and revenue that are down significantly compared to previous quarters. The company did put several new smartphones on the market, but those phones came too late in the quarter and will have no real impact on the upcoming financial report.

Investors had been warned about the poor showing for the quarter.

Reuters reports that rather than focusing on how bad the previous quarter was, investors will be looking ahead to RIM's predictions that next quarter will look better. RIM launched updated version of the Bold, Torch, and Curve smartphones and the company thinks those devices will help its efforts in the maintaining market share.

Analyst Ed Snyder from Charter Equity said, "Even if a viable product surfaces, gaining ground against entrenched iPhone and Android platforms won't be easy." Snyder also said, "…they [enterprise customers] won't be enough to offset a dying handset business."

The outlook for RIM’s PlayBook also doesn’t look to bright. The main drawback is that the tablet can’t email seamlessly and doesn't yet have the Android app capability RIM promised. Analysts think that about 600,000 PlayBooks have shipped in about three months and under 12 million Blackberry smartphones making for the second straight quarter of decline. Shipments are expected to rise to over 14 million in the current quarter.

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