Kevin Lui

https://www.google.ca/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:RIMM

RIM announces that their revenue for the second quarter of 2012 is $566 million higher than their projected $2.87 billion. RIM’s stock opened at $8.19, highest in the last couple months; later closed at $7.50 (+5.04%).

While RIM is hoping to be saved with the upcoming devices that will run Blackberry’s new operating system, BB10, many analysts say that may not be the case. Blackberry released its newest line of operating system and phones not too long ago, Blackberry 7. While most of the owners of these Blackberry 7 devices are loyal Blackberry users, they have only owned the device for 1 or 2 quarters. To the consumer, it is not the time to upgrade phones at the BB10 release date.

The BB10 release date is projected to be January 2013. By that time, a new line of phones from RIM’s competitors like Apple, Android, Win8 will have already launched into the market. The release date of BB10 will really test the loyalty of RIM’s customers. Will they switch or move away.

http://www.valuewalk.com/2012/09/research-motion-may-not-be-able-to-save-itself-with-bb10-morgan-stanley/

The two smartphone rivals, Apple and Samsung, are continuously in law courts about patent infringements. Small things as small as “round corners” on the phone is enough to be a billion dollar fine. Last time Samsung lost to Apple in court, the fine payment was made in nickels. Samsung decided to give Apple’s finance department something to do; count the nickels. Maybe the next fine will be paid in pennies?

http://thecitizen.co.tz/business/14-international-business/25475-apple-sues-samsung-afresh.html

Although many companies would like to expand both geographically and in product lines, there are high costs involved. Especially in expanding geographically, there are many issues that need to be resolved before expanding in a new region. The main issue of many companies who wish to expand to a new country like the United States. So although there are many new markets available, one needs high capital to expand geographically.

The Google streetcars that have been roaming the corners of your neighbourhood have accidentally retrieved some of your personal information. Such data like your “passwords, email and medical records, among other data, from residents’ WiFi networks.”

These specially equipped cars slowly drive by block by block recording street signs, names, intersections, but most importantly, your personal information. Google did not have intentions to purposely retrieve your personal data, but the purpose was to improve location services based on the individual household’s local area connection (LAN). Upon tampering with household connections, emails with your loved ones or this year’s medical check-up records could have been copied by Google.

Google has been fined by The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a total amount of $25,000 for this act. (http://business-ethics.com/2012/04/17/1401-why-the-fcc-fined-google-just-68-seconds-in-profits/) The FCC states that this fine is already ramped up from the amount of $12,000. Doubling the fine seems reasonable for a super corporation like Google, however, with a $225.94 billion market capital, Google will only have to shut its profit doors for 68 seconds to compensate for the FCC fine. This fine will not be sufficient to ring a bell in Google’s executive team.

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