More Videos
- Cisco Jumps; Rest of Market to Follow?
- Call It 'Microsoft Math'
- Intel in the Anti-Trust Crosshairs, but Why?
- Apple Apps—Now More Than 100K
- WoW Fights New Front in China
- Smart Phone Competition Heats Up. Again.
- A Tale of Two Smart Phone Makers
- Avatar Hype Soars Thanks to Tech
- AMD's Ruiz Gets Tripped by Idle Chit-Chat
- Amazon is to eBay What Google is to Yahoo
- Tamminen: Why Does Oklahoma Want To Drown New York?
- Food Network, HGTV Drive Scripps Networks' Upside Surprise
- Tommy Lee, Medical Tourism and Nasty Santa, Your Emails
- U.S. Markets Gain 3% for the Week Despite 10.2% Unemployment
- Disney's 'Carol' Tests Widest 3-D Release Ever
- Stimulus II? Jobs Tax Credit=Cash For Clunkers
- Rockwell Automation Earnings: What Options Are Saying
- Gold Will Touch Higher Lows and Higher Highs: Analyst
- Is Misery Alive And Well in Your Office?
- M. Stanley Looks to Sell China Investment Bank Stake
- Fed's Bullard: Tighten Only When Recovery's 'Solid'
- Kraft to Formalize Hostile Cadbury Bid on Monday
- GE, Comcast Agree on NBC Universal Valuation
- US Health Care Reforms Face Tough Path in Senate
- Obama Delays Start of Asia Trip to Attend Memorial
- China Urges US to Control Deficit to Stabilize Dollar
- Framed for Porn – By a PC Virus
- Hottest Zip Codes for Home Prices
RSS FEED
Tech Check
Text Size 
 |
CNBC.com |
This is the guy who is running arguably the most effective, most innovative company in arguably one of the most exciting and dynamic sectors in tech. And he just doesn't tend to sit down for TV interviews.
He made news during my talk, bringing into sharper focus the release of the highly anticipated BlackBerry Bold in the United States, following its successful debut in RIM's [RIMM
Loading...
()
]home country Canada a few weeks ago. Some analysts and investors, and certainly a big chunk of the "Crackberry" faithful were hoping for its imminent release in the US. Instead, Balsillie now confirms that Bold will not be available until the first part of October. A source at RIM tells me there are ongoing network certification issues with the device and that's why there's still no firm date -- only a range -- on availability.
Meantime, I asked Balsillie about the company's floundering stock price recently even as RIM gobbles up more marketshare and has the most stuffed product pipeline in the company's history. A healthy performance even in the face of stiffening competition from Apple, Nokia, Palm, soon Google, and others.
He wasn't dismissive by any stretch, sharing reverential comments about Apple and Google, their innovation, their brands, and their execution. However, he did say their attempts at attacking the BlackBerry juggernaut are nothing new. That RIM has faced competition for years and has always been able to fend off all comers. He sees nothing now that presents a greater threat.
I asked him about the Wall Street disconnect between RIM's share price and its marketplace performance. Like Steve Jobs earlier this week, Balsillie says he doesn't trouble himself with day-to-day vagaries. The company continues to perform, he tells me, and the stock performance should follow.
The company reports earnings two weeks from today so he wasn't talking specific numbers, but he did point to the dramatic marketshare gains RIM has enjoyed recently as the best indication to date about how the company is doing.
I'll have more in an upcoming post, and we'll post the complete interview shortly. From my standpoint, RIM owns the market if only because of its elegant interface and very long-lasting battery life. iPhone's interesting, even compelling, but that battery life, compared to the BlackBerry, is a killer.
What are your thoughts? Let me know and I'll post some of your notes.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes