RE: RIMM IMPULSIVE "HOLDERS/BUYERS SHALL LOSE!>this is a growth story.blackberry>after purchasing for say $500, people pay us$40/month for airtime.this revenue is ongoing of $480 per year. if they sell 1 million units, thats $480m pa. and growing. <
You got it wrong my friend. RIM does not take in the air time revenue. It goes like this... RIM partners with AT&T. Each BlackBerry sold by AT&T, RIM pays a commission to AT&T.. say 20%, so it takes in $500 x 80% = $400. The monthly air time revenue goes to AT&T, not RIM.
So, RIM has to continue selling a lot of Black Berries to make the growth projections. Meanwhile, Palm, Handspring, Motorola are all getting into this wireless email messaging. The only advantage RIM has at the time being is that its pager is on all the time. Only executives at crucial times will want this feature. It's stressful to be on beckon and call 24 hours a day !!!! That's why, imo, many will chose the "pick up" wireless email method... the ones sold by MOT and PALM, NOKIA etc. In the end, I think the telephone will win out the PDA... wireless phones already have voice, web, and email capabilities... they are more useful for the masses than a constantly on email pda like RIM.