Beats by Dr. Dre will be introducing Beats Music

Beats Music should be arriving next month - a music streaming service debuting on the massive brand that is Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. According to “Beats Music Streaming Service Says It Will Begin in January" by Ben Sisario of NYTimes.com, the streaming service has been in the works for more than a year. The article reports, Ian Rogers, “Beats Music’s chief executive, posted an announcement…saying ‘We are locked and loaded, ready to launch here in the U.S. in January 2014’”

So far, the anticipation for Beats Music hasn’t yielded any features that will set the service apart from its competition.  The model seems to be similar to other services – a monthly fee to stream millions of songs. Sisario expects Beats Music will come with “a blitz of television ads”. A media blitz would make sense considering the well-executed ad campaign for Beats by Dr. Dre. Beats by Dr. Dre has become a product, brand, and statement seen on many celebs in the music industry. The product’s success is solidified until another high-quality, high-priced, well-branded headphone could potentially take its place. But can the same be done for Beats Music?

A great ad campaign will get people to try the service and could push competitors to push themselves out more. For users, it could simply come down to price, usability and song catalog. If it’s easy to access, with a fluid app, wide song catalog, and a good price, the service has a chance.

Blackberry is not for sale!

Oh Blackberry! The short and sweet of it – Blackberry is not for sale and their CEO has been fired. According to the opening line of “BlackBerry abandons search for buyer” by Aaron Smith and David Goldman of CnnMoney.com, “Shares of BlackBerry plunged more than 16% on Monday after the company abandoned plans to sell the company and fired its CEO”. The only good in the story is that Fairfax Financial who previously bid to buy the company stated they would instead invest $1 billion in the company. Barbara Stymiest, chairwoman of the company’s board, states this $1 Billion “…provides an immediate cash injection on terms favorable to BlackBerry”.

However favorable to the company $1 Billion may be, shareholders clearly were not excited with news that the company wasn’t for sale. The CEO Thorsten Heins who joined the company with agendas to not change marketing strategy, is “leaving the company and [will] step down from the board”. Executive chairman of the board John Chen “will serve as interim CEO with Prem Watsa, CEO of Fairfax “[heading] up the committee to search for a permanent successor to Heins”.

According to the article, there is no stated reason behind the “no sale” sign. Maybe BlackBerry thinks $1 Billion is enough to make up financial losses, produce a competitive viable product, and restore the company to its previous majesty. Maybe a new CEO seems better than a new owner taking the company private. Who knows? For now, the shares have fallen in disbelief that there is a better solution than selling the company.

BlackBerry Could Go Private

Amongst troublesome CEOs, product delays, software delays, and market share reduction, BlackBerry just keeps on trying. However, despite finally releasing Blackberry 10 OS and phones with more current features, the company still finds itself unable to make a comeback. Last week, the company reported a $1 Billion loss and a planned layoff of 4,500 employees. Yesterday, Fairfax Financial, the company’s largest shareholder, made an offer to buy the company at $9 a share, an estimated $4.7 Billion. According to “BlackBerry plans to go private” by Julianne Pepitone of CNNMoney.com, “shareholders were skeptical that Fairfax’s deal could even go through: Shares of BlackBerry traded slightly below the amount that Fairfax was offering on Monday”. Fairfax already has a plan for the drowning company; the CEO Prem Watsa wants to take the company private.

The article reports,  “the company has until Nov 4 to find a better offer before proposing Fairfax’s plan to shareholders”. Unless a bigger company (like Amazon or Google size) is willing to invest the dollars and time to reframe and re-introduce a “new” BlackBerry with superior products while under the pressure of maintaining stock value, going private seems reasonable. The article mentioned both the company and Fairfax hope to focus solely on corporate clients to rebuild the brand. However, the name BlackBerry, whether with the corporate or private consumers, doesn’t have as much weight as Apple, Samsung, or Android. The company also has to work to gain morale amongst current and future investors and employees. Maybe a new name could also be as valuable as a new owner and going private.

Microsoft Wants to Invade Your Living Room with Xbox One

It connects, it’s alive, and will always remember you. It is the Xbox One, the next gaming console for Microsoft. Today, Microsoft revealed this next generation Xbox in an event titled Xbox Reveal via Xbox Live. The majority of the presentation was centered on the connection Xbox One will have to the users and it’s new look. The users voice will power on the console. The gestures of the user provide remote-less entertainment. The Xbox One will remember user history, trends, and favorites. It can connect the user with his/her friends, mostly through Skype, which is owned by Microsoft. It also contains “intelligent TV”; Users can watch live TV while using other apps included on the system and receive personal recommendations based on use. Intelligent TV caught my eye as it competes with TV services from competitors. Microsoft didn’t give substantial information about “intelligent TV”. I wasn’t sure if this was the official name or just a description on the upcoming Xbox TV. In order to provide live TV that is enticing enough to not use cable, Xbox would have to create a cable/TV subscription service (such service wasn’t mentioned).

Steven Spielberg has partnered with Xbox to create a live action series based on the popular game, Halo.  NFL also partnered up, allowing Xbox to provide more interaction during live games, including updating fantasy football stats.  The Kinect is more sensitive as its 1080p resolution interacts better with body and hand gestures. As the user becomes the controller and the console works to provide specific personal entertainment, Xbox One will collect 2 Gb of data every minute on its user to better know and build an entertainment guide for them.  Of course, Xbox also plugged its phone and tablet – both can interact as remotes to the console if hand gestures are too much.

Apple and HTC to End Legal Battle

This Saturday, Apple Inc. and HTC Corp agreed to a settlement in their legal battle. “Apple and HTC settle global patent battle” by Dan Levine of Reuters.com reports both agreed to a “10-year licensing agreement that ends one of the first major conflagrations of the smartphone patent wars”.

This comes a few months after Samsung lost to Apple in one of their patent legal battles. Tim Cook has expressed to media outlets that he offered licensing agreements to Samsung and other companies before pursuing legal efforts. Samsung’s $1.05 billion loss and the cost of fighting a multi-year international case likely encouraged HTC to settle rather than continue the case. The article reports Apple had been able “to actually disrupt the flow of products into the crucial U.S. market”. With the licensing agreement, HTC should be able to bring more products into the market.

Amazon Will Have Opt-out Option from Ads on New Tablets

This previous Thursday, Amazon revealed a new line of tablets and e-readers. The company has three new HD tablets including a $499 8.9” 4G tablet to compete with the iPad and two new Paperwhite e-readers. The company also announced that the tablets “would come with ads known as ‘special offers’ that appear when screens are locked in the corner of the home screen, helping keep prices low.” However, “Amazon, in switch, will let Kindle users pay to opt out of ads” by Reuters.com reports online forums revealed criticism of the ads and disappointment that “the company would not allow buyers to pay to block the ads as it had done with earlier tablets”. The article reports the company will be providing an opt-out option for users. 

Amazon spokesman Kinley Pearsall responded to Reuters:

“With Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD there will be a special offers opt-out option for $15. We know from our Kindle reader line that customers love our special offers and very few people choose to opt out. We’re happy to offer customers the choice.”

This opt-option fiasco comes after Reuters.com reported that Amazon has not “received approval for their sale from the Federal Communications Commission, which requires that products operate safely and won’t interfere with other signals.” The company responded by saying they would be ready “to meet its planned shipping date of Nov. 20.”

I own a Kindle Fire. It doesn’t have and has never had special offers. Thus, it explains the criticism of the planned special offers for the new tablets. While Pearsall responds by saying the users of the Kindle reader line “love” special offers, he’s using an e-reader experience to assume a tablet user experience, which is illogical. Also, it was a stretch for him to say customers “loved” the offers. “Settling” or “dealing with it” would be a better description. It’s good that the opt-out option is available - the company can move on to making sure they can actually the sell the tablets.

RIM, maker of BlackBerry, Believes Nothing is Wrong with the Company

Research In Motion wants you to know there is nothing wrong with the company. According to “RIM marketing boss sees silver lining in BlackBerry delay” by Alastair Sharp of Reuters.com, the newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben and CEO Thorsten Heins are on a media blitz to prove the company will survive their latest bad news. Last month, the company stated their next update, Blackberry 10, is delayed until 2013 and there would be have job cuts and financial losses.

The article reports Heins had a radio appearance in which “he said there was ‘nothing wrong’ with the company”. He “also published an opinion piece in The Globe and Mail newspaper [stating] the new BlackBerrys, which the company insists will be better than anything now on the market…” He also wrote “RIM is a company at the beginning of a transition that we expect will once again change the way people communicate”.

Reuters interviewed Frank Boulben. He is says in the interview: “The short delay is not detrimental if the quality is there when we launch early next year… We will have much more attention and focus and ability to leverage our carriers”. Boulben was just hired last month as CMO after the company went one year without one. The only mention of a marketing strategy by Boulben is that social media will be incorporated “to show the capabilities of BlackBerry 10 and let its millions of still-loyal users spread the word”.

Research In Motion Delays BlackBerry Update Again

Despite abandoning it’s dual CEO structure and promising the world a new software update in 2012, Research In Motion can’t make a comeback.  “RIM delays new BlackBerry launch as problems deepen” by Alastair Sharp of Reuters.com reports the next BlackBerry update, BlackBerry 10, is delayed until next year. At this point delays are typical for the company - the current software, BlackBerry 7, was delayed by months and this is the second delay for the next update.

The company also announced, “that it would slash 5,000 jobs, or 30 percent of its workforce” and “a steeper-than-expected quarterly operating loss”.

The reaction has been to see this as the beginning of the end of RIM. The quotes placed in the article by analysts:

“It’s like watching a puppy die. It’s terrible” –Matthew Thornton, analyst at Avian Securities

“Wow what a disaster” – Edward Snyder, managing director of Charter Equity Research

“There’s really no guarantee that once they come out on the other side of BlackBerry 10 that it’s going to be something that people will want” Eric Jackson, hedge fund manager at Ironfire Capital

By the time the new update comes around, it’s expected that Samsung, Apple, and Microsoft would have release another phone - RIM is moving slow. Whether resources are not being used efficiently or resources don’t exist, it’s a surprise RIM exists at the pace they’re moving. Apple and Samsung are at the top of their game because by the time a phone is released they’re working on the next one. RIM can’t expect investors and analysts to wait another year in good faith that the update isn’t delayed again, the company still exists, and that the new product can sell enough to bounce back the company.

AT&T's 4G is Not Real 4G

Yesterday AT&T had an update “courtesy of Apple’s new iOS 5.1 software update”.  With this update comes a surprise for iPhone 4S users. Their phones will display their speed as 4G. However, according to “For Apple iPhone 4S Owners, 4G the Easy Way” by Andrew Dowell of WSJ.com, it’s not an upgrade in speed just a change in name. This “4G” is actually 3G under a new name.

According to article the update actually states that this is an “Updated AT&T network indicator”. The article also states this as legal: ”the International Telecommunications Union, a standards body, a standards body, said techologies like AT&T’s HSPA-plus could be labeled 4G.”

After AT&T’s consumer battle over reducing customer’s speed without reasonable notification, you would think AT&T would stray from more bad press. Apparently, they believe they’re invincible and can’t suffer from bad publicity. Regardless that it is legally allowed to state that their speed is 4G, AT&T is basically changing the name of a product to act as if they have benefited their customers. They are lying to current and prospective customers. Maybe when AT&T had the iPhone exclusively this would make sense. However, AT&T no longer has exclusivity over the iPhone or iPads and their recent actions with customers is going to be perceived as if they could care less to lose subscribers once contracts are up. How exactly is this a winning move against their competitors?

When I see a 4G indicator on my phone, I believe I have 4G (by the way, I am not an AT&T customer). My phone indicates it and so does my contract. AT&T has proven they don’t heed their contracts and now their phones are lying to you. Maybe someone in marketing/ public relations needs to sit down with executives of the company to teach common sense and plan for exodus when contracts are up.

Is Cable the Next Step for Netflix?

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings believes cable might be the future for the company. “Netflix Said to Be Aiming for a Cable Partnership” by Amy Chozick from NYtimes.com reports, “Over the last several weeks, Mr. Hastings and his top lieutenants have met with major cable operators to discuss a way for Netflix to appear on monthly cable bills”. The article reported Hastings saying "We are more and more a classic cable network".

This “partnership” would essentially be your cable provider offering Netflix as a service via your cable box and then having the charge appear on your bill. The article points out partnering with cable would offer Netflix millions more subscribers - currently they have 21.7 million.

Cable seems like an awkward next step considering the cable industry was not friendly with Netflix. Players within the cable industry blamed Netflix for “cord-cutting” and felt the company was getting content at “cheap” prices compared to what cable companies paid. Nonetheless, others jumped on to streaming; Amazon, HBO, and Comcast have streaming service. These competitors come with lots of cash, which can outbid Netflix for content.

Mobile News: Security, Spectrum, and Mergers

Lately in the news, there’s been heavy talk about the mobile industry. News reports have generally been on these topics: hacks/security flaws, spectrum, and mergers. Tech blogs and websites have to been reporting different experiments and studies on the security flaws of either Android or iPhones. Technolog previously reported that paperclips could unlock iPhones and magnets could unlock iPads. While CNBC recently reported about an Android Bug that is released via a link opened from a spam text or email.

As far as spectrum, we are all being warned that, at some point in the not-too-distant future, data will slow tremendously from overuse of radio spectrum. While cell carriers may offer unlimited data, reaching a certain point will slow your data. For example, T-mobile slows data from 4G/3G to a G after 2gbs of data has been used within a billing cycle. This speed reduction or the use of limited data plans is to prevent congestion on wireless spectrum, which causes slow networks.

The other solution to congested spectrum is to acquire more of it. Some media entities have spectrum to sell.  Right now, Verizon Wireless is trying to buy spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Brighthouse Networks. If that deal is approved, Verizon Wireless would walk away with better and more spectrum placing them at a greater advantage then their competition. Another way to acquire spectrum is to merge. AT&T and T-mobile attempted to merge, but the government disapproved on the basis it could deplete competition.

Barnes & Noble to Lower Prices to Better Compete

To better compete with Amazon, Barnes & Noble is reducing the price of the Nook. “Barnes & Noble sales rise, launches cheaper Nook” by Phil Wahba of Reuters.com reports the company “lowered the price on its Nook Color e-reader to $169 from $199” and will introduce a Nook tablet that will cost $199. That new Nook will carry 8gb of memory, half of the current standard memory for their current tablet.

Along with the announced prices, the company reported increasing sales for the Nook business and printed business. The Nook business “rose 38% to $542 million during the holiday quarter… physical book sales at its 720 superstores rose 4.2% in the first holiday quarter since rival Borders Group shut down”. Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch claimed yesterday that the company “now had 27 percent to 30 percent share of the U.S. digital books market”.

However, the company has previously admitted that the Nook business is costing too much.  Advertising and manufacturing is taking a toll on the company who recently (last month) stated they might spin off theNook into its own separate business or sell it. With a price cut, analyst Peter Wahlstrom is quoted stating “It’s hard to maintain the same profitability if you keep lowering prices”. 


It seems Barnes & Noble doesn't have the monetary ability to stay competitive in the tablet/e-reader market. Amazon is notorious for taking major price cuts to lure customers to their site for books and music, and it comes as no surprise that the company was able to sell the Kindle Fire at $199. On the contrary, Barnes & Noble doesn't have the financial capacity to keep their advertising at the level it is now and still manufacture tablets/e-readers. Reducing the Nook price might be great for customers but it won't help to increase profit.

Sony Announces Next CEO

Yesterday, Sony announced a replacement for its current CEO. On April 1rst, current CEO Howard Stringer will be replaced by Kazuo Hirai. “Sony names Hirai to replace Stringer as CEO” by Yoko Kubota and Liana B. Baker of reuters.com reports “Hirai [is] a 28-year company veteran known for overseeing the phenomenal rise of the PlayStation gaming system in the United States”.

Hirai’s future seemed to be sealed when “he was promoted to head the company’s consumer products and service businesses, which produce the bulk of Sony’s $85 billion annual sales”.

The main goal for Hirai will to make the company better to compete with other competitors such as Apple and Samsung. Part 1 of the goal is to integrate all Sony entertainment entities to provide a fluid experience. Part 2 would be to reinvigorate the TV division.  The article reports, “Sony exited an LCD panel joint venture with Samsung” and also lost TV sales. Their losses are “expected to show a net loss for the fourth year in a row”

Reuters provided a small statement from Hirai:

“The path we must take is clear… To drive the growth of our core electronics businesses – primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and games; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains”

As CEO, Howard Stringer is known for "cost cutting" in the company. In 2011, he was criticized for his handling of the PlayStation security breach - it took him 6 days to announce the breach to customers and revealed that he wasn't aware of a previous breach. Hirai's 28-year experience within the company and technological knowledge of the products would make him a more knowledgeable and prepared CEO than Stringer.

The Nook Costs Too Much for Barnes & Noble

During the holiday retail season, the Nook sold well but has created a loss for Barnes & Noble. “Barnes & Noble Seeks Next Chapter” by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg and Martin Peers of WSJ.com reports, the company announced that they could lose more money than expected and considering spinning off the Nook into its own business. Most would not spin off a successful aspect of their business, but the cost of making and advertising the Nook is causing the company to lose money.

The article describes the cost:

“Developing, manufacturing and promoting e-readers and tablets requires heavy upfront spending… spending on advertising has more than tripled since 2009… to promote the Nook, the retailer returned to national TV advertising in 2010, after a 14-year hiatus, buying spots on popular programs such as ‘American Idol’”

The result of such cost is that “[the company’s] earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—a critical measure of earnings—fell to $163 million in the fiscal year ending April 30, 2011 from $281 million in fiscal 2010”

Samsung adds to legal battle with Apple; RIM Announces Delay to Blackberry 10

“Samsung expand patent row with Apple in Germany” by Ju-Min Park of Reuters.com reports Samsung has added 4 patent infringement claims against Apple in their Germany trademark battle. Samsung and Apple have a multi-national battle over accusations that the other has violated trademarks in the production of their phones and tablets. Samsung was somewhat losing as there were bans placed on their tablets. Recently, they have had a substantial victory as a judge rejected Apple’s request to ban Samsung’s Galaxy line in the U.S.

CNNMoney.com’s The Buzz (link is to the video) reports that Research In Motion’s Blackberry 10, their next software update, is delayed until the end of 2012. Research In Motion’s stock has been down about 80% this year and they previously reported that they would not make financial expectations. The latest delay news has many wondering if RIM can survive considering the update is vital to the company. Many are also urging for a change in leadership. RIM has two CEOs and if two CEOs cannot make it work, when some companies are able to survive with one, the dual CEO model is no longer a fit for the company.

Research In Motion Renames BlackBerry Update After Restraining Order

It seems Research In Motion lacks a proper research department. The company’s next software update was originally dubbed “BBX”. According to “BlackBerry drops BBX name after court order” by Julianne Pepitone of CNNMoney.com, RIM was taken to court for using BBX, which is trademarked by “mobile software firm” Basis. 

Basis claimed RIM had “caus[ed] confusion among U.S. consumers and erosion of customer goodwill”. Basis brought their case to court on November 30 and Tuesday a judge placed a restraining order on the use of BBX by RIM. The restraining order only last for 14 days but RIM quickly responded by changing the name of their next update. The next software update is now called Blackberry 10 (the previous was Blackberry 7). 

With RIM already cutting losses on their PlayBook and admitting they could fall short of financial expectations, their next update is vital to the company’s future. The inability to do trademark research on the name of this vital anticipated update is embarrassing, - the R in RIM is supposed to stand for Research. Their fall from ruling the mobile market has some concerned that they can’t keep up with the fast pace of mobile software and technology. Hopefully, this is the only negative preview of Blackberry 10, formerly known as BBX, which is trademarked by Basis.

Research In Motion Warns It Can't Reach Financial Targets

Research In Motion is just not having a good year. According to "RIM won’t meet targets, stock slumps" by Euan Rocha of Reuters.com, the company announced today "it would fall short of its financial targets after taking a huge charge to write down inventories on its languishing PlayBook tablet".

PlayBook is going to pull an HP move and will markdown the PlayBook with the attempt to get rid of inventory and bring up sales. The markdown will result in a “$360 million after-tax inventory writedown”. In the 3rd quarter 150,000 PlayBooks were sold and in the second quarter 200,000 were sold.

The global outage also didn’t help the company as many felt the company communicated poorly with their consumers about the outage. That incident resulted in a $50 million charge.

Between outages, PlayBook markdowns, losing smartphone market share (a shame considering the company practically ran the smartphone market), overly defensive CEOs, RIM has a lot they need to get over in order to recover. I just don’t understand how a company, which came from such a powerful position, couldn’t maintain that position, especially with two CEOs running the company. Shouldn't two CEOs perform better than one? If not, the company should get rid of one.

AT&T is Preparing for a Failed Deal with T-Mobile

In an attempted slick PR move, AT&T announced on Thanksgiving that the company is setting aside some cash just in case their deal with T-Mobile falls out. According to Stacy Cowley of CNNMoney.com, “AT&T said Thursday that it will take a $4billion accounting charge this quarter to cover part of the break-up fee it will owe, if its bid to acquire T-Mobile fails to gain regulatory approval”. 

Back in March, AT&T and T-Mobile announced plans to merge. Doing so would make the new company the biggest cell carrier thus lowering the amount of competition in the cell carrier market. This fact has prompted some to oppose the merger including the Department of Justice. The article stated the DOJ “filed an antitrust lawsuit in August to block the merger” and two days ago, the Federal Communications Commission “[recommended] that AT&T’s proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile go to an administrative hearing”. With two government agencies in objection, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile, has withdrawn their FCC applications.

Clearly, AT&T is prepared and probably expecting the worse.  They figured by releasing their epiphany on Thanksgiving no one would notice. Unfortunately, their news is featured on almost every major business news outlet. It is a clear PR trick to release bad news on a holiday, (a certain politician did the same when announcing their resignation from office), but in the world of social media, news travels fast and quick, rarely hidden. AT&T and every business should think twice before using old school PR tactics in a new school social media world.

P.S.

For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, hope your day was great!

Microsoft to Introduce Mango phones

Microsoft plans to launch a line of phones called Mango. According to “Microsoft to launch Mango smartphones with Nokia, Samsung soon” by Lee Chyen Yee and Jonathan Gordon, Mango handsets could include Nokia, Samsung, and HTC phones. Andrew Lees, president of Microsoft’s Windows phone division alludes to the fact that Google’s purchase of Motorola has many worried about Google’s plans to enter the phone manufacturing market. With that in mind, Microsoft wants to try again before the next competitor enters the game.

The targets for the Mango phones are the U.S., Europe and China. According to Lees, “As the price comes down, emerging markets do become a huge opportunity, but also the existing markets in western Europe and the U.S., because as the price point comes down, more people will get into the smartphone market”. Mango phones are expected in China next year and in the U.S. and Europe next week. There is currently a Mango phone in Japan.  Unfortunately, the article doesn’t say anything about the features of the Mango line or the ways in which Microsoft plans to compete effectively with Apple or Android phones

International Blackberry Outage Could Kill RIM [Updated]

There is a blackberry outage. First, it started this Monday “in Europe, the Middle East and Africa”. By yesterday, the outage spread to the South America, the U.S., and Canada. According to “BlackBerry outage is another black eye for RIM” by Julianne Pepitone of CNNMoney.com, “the outage appears primarily to affect text messaging and Internet access, not voice calling”.

The response from RIM (Research In Motion) has been the usual “we’re working on it” response most companies give with major product malfunctions. But that hasn’t stopped the #DearBlackberry trends from sweeping across the net with tweets and blog posts from angry Blackberry users. The biggest problem with this outage is it’s not the first.  With the count given in the article, this outage is #6 (or five if two in a week count as one).

At this moment, many customers are asking, “why should I stay?”  This outage is very hurtful to businesses, solo, big and small, that depend on communication to operate. Those businesses and entrepreneurs can do without outages that cost them money and waste their time.

As far as technology, RIM may have had sophisticated phones with above-the-line software, especially attractive to on-the-go busy bodies and business professionals. But other smartphones have competitive features, updated software and enough memory to store plenty of apps to help organize almost any busy lifestyle.

RIM is already suffering from fleeing customers and delayed software updates. In this moment, when millions around the world are upset, RIM’s two CEOs need to work on fixing the crisis of this consistent outage. What is the point of having two CEOs when not one can give a valid answer as to why this happened and when it can be fixed? Customers want answers and investors want action. The whole world is watching to see if RIM can pull itself out of this.

update 10/13 12:39pm:

"RIM CEO says Blackberry service restored, apologizes for outage" by Jim Puzzanghera of LAtimes.com reports, "a top Research in Motion executive" stated the outage is over. The article reports Lazaridis stated, in a conference call, that any other problems is "caused by the lengthy backlog of messages". His suggestions to customers is for them to remove their battery in order to reset their phone.

Yet, the video posted by Blackberry (which is in the article) with Lazaridis giving his statement on the outage tells a different story. He states in the video that full normal service has not been restored internationally and it's too soon to state the "issue" has been fully resolved. He also states he cannot give an estimated time for full recovery. 

Sounds like RIM is not on the same page as their CEO.