Will the doom book doom RIMM? Or will it be the CEO?
Full disclosure. I HATE Blackberrys.
Canadaâs Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) is an amazing company, no question about it._ Soaring near $70 per share earlier this year on the strength of its corporate warrior tool, the Blackberry, and hot anticipation for its supposed iPad killer, the PlayBook, it seemed nothing could stop this juggernaut of a company._ Revenues were soaring, shipments of the BlackBerry jumped more than 40%, and the smart phone was the number one selling smart phone in the U.S., Latin America, Canada and the UK._ The PlayBook could only help fuel this companyâs climb, right?_ Well, not exactly._ The early reviews are so bad that the ultra hyped tablet might as well been called DoomBook for the damage itâs causing to Rimmâs reputation.
_
Released to great fanfare, it turns out that the PlayBook lacks e-mail and even a calendar._ Reviewers claim that its buggy and the power button is too small for normal size hands._ These items combined with a viral You Tube video of the CEO losing his cool when cornered about security issues spell the start of a rocky road for the successful company._ My initial impression from the Mike Lazaridis angry video and the PlayBook launch video is that Steve Jobs has nothing to fear in the charisma or charm department from this guy._ Some CEOs just shouldnât be the public face of their company, and this guy is no exception._ With this said, itâs truly unreal that a tablet billed as the âWorldâs First Professional Tabletâ doesnât have a calendar and e-mail._ The PlayBook can only get e-mail in conjunction with a BlackBerry device._ For something costing $499, itâs beyond ridiculous.
_
Rimm states that they will add in these features in future developments but for the company to launch the product before its ready to actually compete with the iPad, not to mention the scads of Android based tablets, was downright stupid.
_
On the heels of this disastrous introduction, Rimm shares gave back 1.7% on Thursday and continued to fall another 1% in after hour trading.__ However, shares are bouncing back in early trade on Friday._ Perhaps Lazaridis will be a Lazarus bringing the DoomBook back from the dead._ Time will tell._ Good trading!