Archive for the ‘Apple’ Category
When the CrackBerry’s No Longer Addictive
By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential
I recall back in 1999 when I came across a small Canadian technology company that had developed a unique smartphone with real-time e-mailing. At that time, e-mailing was still largely confined to computers, so I thought this was a novel concept that had growth written all over it. The small Canadian company was Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ/RIMM), which was started by Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis in a small city in Ontario, Canada.
I initiated coverage on Research In Motion (RIM) at around $5.00 and watched the stock surged to over $140.00 by May 2008, up 2,700%. There was nothing close to RIM’s mobile e-mail technology offered through its “BlackBerry” personal digital assistant (PDA). Corporate users around the world and especially in the U.S. began to coin the PDA the “CrackBerry” due to its addictive qualities for those who needed to stay in constant touch.
But that was then. Over the years, the advent of smartphones has steadily challenged the dominance of the BlackBerry, but the company’s position on top was not challenged until the appearance of the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ/AAPL) “iPhone.” The fateful day for RIM was June 29, 2007.
In nearly five years, the Apple iPhone has leapfrogged ahead of RIM’S BlackBerry to become the most sought-after smartphone in the world, albeit the dominant market is the U.S. In Canada—RIM’s country of origin—the BlackBerry is holding on to its market, mainly with the youths who love the “BBM” instant-messaging feature of the BlackBerry. But Apple did not get to where it is now by being lax and not being aware of any competitive threat. To try to … Read More
My Tribute to Steve Jobs—
Visionary and Leader
By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential
The big news on Wednesday was the passing of Steve Jobs, the visionary who led Apple Inc. (NASDAQ/AAPL) to new heights. But with his death, the future of Apple will be the constant subject of debate. The concern obviously will be the ability of Apple to continue to drive innovation without Jobs. Apple is trading down about 1.75% in the pre-market.
Apple Is Shining Bright…
RIM, Not So Much
By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ/AAPL) is to the technology world what Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ/MSFT) was in the 90s. The stock traded at a record $415.00 on Tuesday and, in my view, could be heading for $500.00 within a year. The market capitalization of $382 billion makes Apple the biggest company in the world. And not only is Apple the biggest, but it also leading the technology pack with innovation and a desire to be the world’s dominant company.
Apple Shines, But Is Research In Motion Dead?
By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential
On August 15, Google Inc. (NASDAQ/GOOG) announced that it was acquiring Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE/MMI) in a $12.5-billion, or $40.00-per-share deal, representing a huge 60% price premium to the previous close. The key to the deal was the enormous resource of patents held by Motorola, which is attractive to Google as the company tries to build up its “Android” mobile operating system. Motorola held over 17,000 granted patents and about 7,500 pending patents.
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