Research in Motion (RIMM): Blackberry bet
"By 2017, wireless service providers could generate more than $100 billion from services such as text messaging, GPS and movie, and music downloads." says Roger Conrad.
In Personal Finance, he adds, "Even this forecast could prove extremely conservative thanks to an explosion in sales of smartphones." How to play this trend? Here, he looks at Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM).
"Research in Motion’s calling card is the BlackBerry, the dominant brand in the US smartphone market with a 55% market share in the first quarter.
"Research in Motion retains major competitive advantages in the market for large corporations thanks to its proprietary BlackBerry Enterprise server system. The system provides superior security and faster e-mail delivery than competing systems such as Microsoft’s Active Server.
"Economic weakness has slowed corporate demand for new smartphones, but it remains a high-margin business line for RIM. And as the economy recovers, sales should surge as companies upgrade systems and handsets to newer models.
"Since the release of the sleek BlackBerry Pearl in 2006, the company has aggressively targeted the retail market.
"Consumers now account for more than half of all BlackBerry sales against 20% to 25% before the Pearl’s launch. Although consumers are more price-sensitive, it’s a much larger market than enterprise and has stronger growth potential.
"The BlackBerry faces plenty of competition, including the latest iteration of the iPhone. But given smartphones’ still-low penetration, there’s plenty of room for multiple competitors. The real market losers have been traditional cell phones.
"The release of new iPhone handsets has proved a growth catalyst for RIMM because it raised consumer awareness of smartphones. In fact, since the release of the first iPhone, BlackBerry’s global market share has doubled.
"Another catalyst for upside: RIMM plans to release two new handsets over the next six months, the BlackBerry Tour and a new generation of the popular Storm.
"The company has been focusing on improving its user interface to appeal to consumers, and both phones are likely to be strong sellers."
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