Microsoft to Buy Rim?

[Pete Paxton]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=hotStocksNewsUS&storyID=2007-08-30T165638Z_01_N30428416_RTRUKOC_0_US-RIMM-MICROSOFT-SHARES.xml' target='_blank'>http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=hotStocksNewsUS&storyID=2007-08-30T165638Z_01_N30428416_RTRUKOC_0_US-RIMM-MICROSOFT-SHARES.xml</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>&quot;Research in Motion Ltd shares rose more than 3 percent on Thursday on renewed market speculation that Microsoft Corp&nbsp; could be interested in buying the BlackBerry maker.&nbsp; &quot;Microsoft has been mentioned as a possible buyer,&quot; said Frederic Ruffy, an analyst at options education firm Optionetics in California. &quot;According to speculation, the software giant might be interested in RIM in response to Google's recent announcement that it is interested in making its own mobile phone operating system, which would compete with Windows Mobile,&quot; he added.&quot;</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/spt/auto/1188662477.usr11642.jpg" border="1" alt="" /></p><p>Ah yes, the ol' rumor mill is at work again. Interesting thought though. What do you think? Should, could, or would Microsoft buy RIM? Honestly, I don't think so. Most Blackberry users I know choose their RIM device because they don't want a Windows Mobile device. Many Blackerry users I know feel about Microsoft the way Apple fanatics do. Let's say it were to happen. What do you see as the pros and cons? Would you like to see it happen and would you buy a Blackberry device with Windows Mobile on it? Or perhaps Microsoft will use the Blackberry OS and simply slap their pretty little logo on it. What do you think?</p>

[whydidnt]

Interesting thought though. What do you think? Should, could, or would Microsoft buy RIM? Honestly, I don't think so. Most Blackberry users I know choose their RIM device because they don't want a Windows Mobile device.


I think you may know a unique group of RIM users. I think far and away a majority of Blackberry users use it because that's what their employer uses and supports. Given the choice of a Blackberry or WM device, many may still chose a Blackberry, but that's because a large number only care about email access and in RIM's case it just works and is simple. But, I don't think they use the Blackberry out of some hatred for Windows Mobile today.

It would be interesting to see how regulators would view a purchase such as this. Would they consider it a monopoly on mobile email? Or would they consider the competition from Symbian, Apple, etc. sufficient to allow MS to completely control the corporate mobile email space? I personally don't see MS making this move at this point in time. They are starting to make inroads with their exchange/WM solution, which is much cheaper to deploy for those that already support an Exchange Server. I think they are already well positioned to gain larger chunks of this market over the next 2-3 years.

[samir]

Pro would be that MSFT immediately jumps ahead in the mobile industry and buries Symbian and Palm
Con would be that the tech is not really compatable and it would take some time to sort out the bugs
But does that mean that NO ONE can buy RIMM? What about Motorola?
Ironically, despite all the negatives you hear about this deal, BOTH Micro and Moto have a lot of inside ties with RIMM http://www.newsvisual.com/newsvisual/2007/08/rim-and-microso.html

[randalllewis]

I would agree. The vast majority of BB users I encounter have them because they have to for work. What they like about them is the ease of getting e-mail and what they dislike (depending on the model) is how it works as a phone. I have not yet encountered a BB user with hatred for Microsoft. They usually look longingly at my WM smartphone, unless all they care about it the e-mail, in which case I usually hear how all that other stuff WM can do isn't important.

The only way this move would make sense for Microsoft was as a defensive one against Google. Buying market share this way is very expensive.

[mbranscum]

While some may use BB's out of obligation to an employer, many use them because they like Blackberrys. Not only is their email solid, so is the OS.

Currently the Curve and Pearl are two of AT&T's most highly rated devices. If you go to Phonescoop.com and look at the user review raings, the Curve currently has one of the highest ratings I've ever seen on a phone.

With RIM about to release the Curve with WiFi or GPS(GSM), and the Pearl with WiFi, RIM is doing some exciting stuff.

They have made alot of headway in the least several months with non-enterprise users.

[Rocco Augusto]

Given the choice of a Blackberry or WM device, many may still chose a Blackberry, but that's because a large number only care about email access and in RIM's case it just works and is simple.

You mean "it just works until a system update knocks out email for all of North America" ;)

I think it would be interesting for Microsoft to buy the product line, they would own one of their largest three competitors and the extra foothold could help them get Windows Mobile devices into the doors of those larger corporations that have been using RIM since the day of single colored LCD screens :)

[Pete Paxton]

Don't get me wrong, there's not a BB out there that I'd trade for my Dash. As a matter of fact, I'd say BB is just now catching up to my Dash. When Tmobile releases the Curve on the 24th I'll definitely take a look but in reality, what does it have that my Dash doesn't? I had a two week period where my dash had some conflicts and I was able to resolve that. Other than that, my Dash has been stable and great for the 10 months I've had it. But many of the Crackberry lovers are addicted. I have a buddy who just yesterday took back his Q for a BB. He had a BB in the past and just likes it better.

[ajwalker]

I think the WM hate is probably 50-50. However, most of the BlackBerry users I know only want e-mail and RIM has the perception of being the e-mail king for work.

I'd buy a Curve in a minute running Windows Mobile 6 but don't see any benefit to Microsoft to purchase them.

What I think happened is probably someone from Microsoft had a meeting with someone at RIM about exploring the possibility of offering Windows Mobile on their devices like their relationship with Palm. Nothing more, if that much.

Some analyst got wind of it and assumed Microsoft wanted to buy RIM. This caused their stock to shoot up and folks at both Microsoft and RIM are probably scratching their heads about how something so inane could gain such traction.

But Windows Mobile 6 on one of those sweet looking Curves, Yummy!!!

I like the fact RIM isn't afraid to make bigger phones since everyone and their grandmother keeps trying to make them smaller and smaller.

I'm still searching/waiting for a Windows Mobile 6 phone that has the same general size as the Nokia E62 I used to have (hated the Symbian OS). Nice big screen and phone (by most people's standards anyway) with a QWERTY keyboard that still fit in a shirt pocket. That would be my perfect Windows Mobile device.

[Kirkaiya]

You mean "it just works until a system update knocks out email for all of North America" ;)

I think it would be interesting for Microsoft to buy the product line, they would own one of their largest three competitors and the extra foothold could help them get Windows Mobile devices into the doors of those larger corporations that have been using RIM since the day of single colored LCD screens :)

Well, nobody's service is up 100% forever - I think the "it just works" bit, from my own experience working on projects that span multiple countries in Asia, is that it pretty much works everywhere.

I use an HTC phone (Dopod S300, aka "Star Trek") with Direct Push, and sometimes ActiveSync flakes out, sometimes it just sort of hangs, or stops syncing. It also sucks the battery a lot faster than my fellow project-worker's blackberries (and even so, I prefer Windows Mobile).

Anyway - I think it would be a bold, and good move for MSFT to buy RIM - they'd get RIM's patents, for one, and the technology, and the business relationships that RIM has with a lot of enterprise customers.

Maybe the next version of Windows Mobile (version 7? or whatever it's going to be) would incorporate the Blackberry's "push" technology, and we'd see Blackberries running WM7, etc. (I'm just speculating). All in all, it would be a good mobile play for Microsoft, I think. They eventually did put Palm pretty much out of business, but RIM is a much more entrenched foe, considering it's enterprise ubiquity.

[Stinger]

Almost all of the Blackberry users I know are non-techies. They like their Blackberrys because they're simply and have the brand-name their associate with push e-mail.

They certainly don't hate Windows Mobile. In fact, I'd say that most of them are ignorant to the existence of Windows Mobile!

[gmontielh]

As far as I understand all systems somehow end up interfacing with MS Exchange. I tried BB 8830 but found it difficult to set up as my corporate server does not support BB exchange. I did not like their web based solution. But still I find it they are very good at what they offer to deliver. I preferred to stick to WM as I found it more transparent and the BJ was so easy to set up and could do a lot more than the BB. An honestly I don't see much improvement on the BB system as other solutions in the market.

I switched to the iPhone (sorry folks but it wasn't easy as I really liked my BJ very very much) and it immediately was set up up to work with MS Exchange (now if they could finally sort out the calendar issue...). My email and contacts are just doing just great and I really like to interface for reading my emails. I'll find t hard to go back to WM but I am sure that they will catch up. Let's hope sooner than later. I have found through the years WM to be a better system compared to others. I just wish MS could be again as innovative as when they started with WM in the iPaq (remember those?) and US carriers faster to get WM updates to users.

Only thing I find attractive about the BB is their international flat monthly rate. No competition. But since my company is not willing to support BB and pays the phone bill...

[MR_E]

I was given a Blackberry 8707 by my employer and didn't like it at all. Terrible UI, terrible screen, doesn't really work as a phone.
Put the SIM into my privately bought Dash, installed Blackberry Connect 4.0, and everything is just fine - except for the occasional crash of the phone, BBC seems to be a bit of a memory hog.
Good combination of Dash hardware and BB functionality, a great combination after a few updates of the BBC or Dash soft/firmware.

The Virtual Blackberry for the Dash looks interesting too:

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2007/07/13/virtual-blackberry-for-windows-mobile-launching-on-t-mobile-dash/

[Mike Temporale]

This would be an interesting purchase. I think there's a lot of competition still out there between Apple, Linux, and Symbian, so there shouldn't be a problem with the purchase. But that's hard to say for sure.

So I think it's going to happen? Not a chance. Microsoft's solution is cheaper, easier to manage, just as secure, and overall better design. The only advantage of this purchase is to nail down a significant market share. However, if they manage their current offerings correctly, they can over take RIM in the not too distant future.

[crony803]

I think that this 100% rumor. I can't really think of any good reason for Microsoft to buy RIM unless they intend to completely stomp it out of existence.

The Blackberry boom was simply the right hardware, with the right features, at the right time. Windows Mobile missed out because they didn't have the push email option available. I suppose that MS simply left that to third-party companies like they do with so many things.

But I do beleive that the tides are changing drastically in MS's favor: With the BB, you still have fork out the $$ for the servers, phones, and BB service with the mobile carrier. With WM, most medium to large comapnies already have the exchange server. With the Moto Q and BlackJack, there are good devices at a great cost. And the mobile service is generally less expensive than with the BB- Especially with Sprint/Nextel and the totally absurd $15.00/month unlimited internet add-on. Even on other carriers, unlimited rate plans typically max out around $39.00 while BB services are $5.00-$10.00 more.

My former employer went with the BB solution, only because that's about all there was available with Nextel at that time. They recently switched to WM devices and haven't looked back. Why? ROI.

I have to say, unless RIM can come to the table with another breakthrough, I think they will continue to lose market share to MS and the WM uprising.