Selasa, 14 Mei 2013
BlackBerry CEO Questions Future of Tablets
Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins
said the popularity of tablet computers may wane, an indication the company may
shelve a follow-up to its ill- fated PlayBook device.
“In
five years I don’t think there’ll be a reason to have a tablet anymore,” Heins
said in an interview yesterday at the Milken Institute conference in. Los
Angles “Maybe a big screen in your workspace, but not a tablet as such. Tablets
themselves are not a good business model.”
Heins is rethinking whether to offer
larger devices even as the company pushes ahead with fresh smartphones built on
the new BlackBerry 10 platform to engineer a sales recovery. The PlayBook,
introduced in 2011, was panned by critics for debuting without built-in e-mail,
delivering the tablet a near-fatal blow. Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry
took a $485 million charge later that year to write down unsold inventory after
shipping as few as 150,000 PlayBooks in the third quarter of 2012.
Heins said in a January interview he’ll
only consider a PlayBook successor if it can be profitable. He reiterated
yesterday that a BlackBerry tablet has to offer a unique proposition in a
crowded market.
“In five years, I see BlackBerry to be the
absolute leader in mobile computing -- that’s what we’re aiming for,” Heins
said. “I want to gain as much market share as I can, but not by being a
copycat.”
Q10 Prospects
In a separate interview with Bloomberg
Television yesterday, Heins said he was optimistic about prospects for
BlackBerry’s new Q10 phone, which sports a physical keyboard. It debuted over
the weekend in the U.K.
“We have very, very good first signs
already after the launch in the U.K.,” Heins said. “This is going into the
installed base of more than 70 million BlackBerry users, so we have quite some
expectations. We expect several tens of million of units.”
The shares rose 4.4 percent to $16.29 at
the close in New York. The stock had increased 37 percent this year on
speculation that the BlackBerry 10 lineup can help fuel a comeback.
The company is counting on a wave of
upgrade buying from BlackBerry users who prefer a physical keyboard to drive
Q10 sales and help revive revenue growth. While the touch-screen Z10 sold a
million units in its first quarter that ended March 2, in line with analyst
estimates, the company’s stock has experienced volatily in recent weeks
following reports of lackluster demand for the Z10.
‘False’ Information
Department store Selfridges and outlets
of Carphone Warehouse Group Plc (CPW) sold out of the Q10
quickly, Peter Misek, an analyst at Jefferies Group LLC
(JEF) in New York, wrote in a note yesterday.
“Salespeople were well-versed on the
device, and there was more apparent buzz versus the Z10 launch,” Misek said.
BlackBerry said April 12 it would ask
securities regulators to investigate a report from Detwiler Fenton & Co.
that its new phones have high return rates, saying that the “false” information
may have been released in a deliberate attempt to manipulate its stock price.
“Whatever the motivation is, you have to
use the right facts, and that’s what we’re challenging right now,” Heins said,
referring to the company’s request for both the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission to review the report.
Data from BlackBerry and one of its U.S.
carrier partners Verizon Wireless show that Z10 returns are “completely in
line” with the industry and “better than previous BlackBerry launches were, so
the quality speaks for itself,” Heins said.
‘Remain Steady’
In a separate report last week, Wedge Partners said BlackBerry is probably scaling back Z10 production.
Misek, who has a buy rating on BlackBerry
shares, said he saw no sign of Z10 manufacturing cuts and that “Z10 sales in Canada
the U.S. and U.K. remain steady with no inventory or return issues.”
The Q10, set to go on sale in the U.S. at
the end of May, will sell through the four largest U.S. carriers for about $249
on a two-year contract. While that’s $50 more than Inc (AAPL)’s iPhone 5 it’s
part of a strategy to target business users willing to pay more for a phone
they think will boost their productivity, according to analysts including Anil
Doradla at William Blair & Co. in. Chicago
Lost Ground
The company, formerly known as Research In
Motion Ltd. (BB), has steadily lost ground over the past three years to Apple
and Samsung Electronik Co. (005930), which offered more compelling touch-
screen devices. Samsung accounted for one-third of smartphone sales last
quarter, while Apple had 17 percent, according to IDC. BlackBerry’s share fell
to 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter and then dropped out of the top five in
the first three months of this year.
Heins has said he is exploring the
potential licensing of the BlackBerry 10 operating system to other companies.
A successful introduction of the new
phones will “create a certain attraction toward BlackBerry 10, and then
whatever comes up, we will entertain any valuable discussion for the company,”
Heins said yesterday. “We are still observing and watching that space, and
that’s what we will continue to do.”
By. Bloomberg
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