Bill McEwen of AInc. tied to RIM?

[Darrin]

That picture isn't Bill McEwen.

I'm not really Kate Bush.

[Darrin]

How is he tied to RIM exactly? It shows, possibly, his details in some guys contact list.

My thoughts exactly.  It is like looking at my list of contacts on my smartphone and assuming they all work in the Petroleum Industry.  

[Darrin]

It's showing a guy that is associated with Amiga with the name Bill McEwen at a recent Blackberry conference. Hey, maybe it *is* another Bill McEwen who just happens to like Amiga stuff, and maybe AInc. suddenly started selling Blackberry apps coincidentally. I mean, the real McBill would never misrepresent himself, right? Like claim to have the money to name a hockey stadium or something like that? It's a different picture so it MUST be a completely different guy!

Things were already pretty bad at RIM, I've a feeling they just took another turn for the worse...

When we see a new product called the "Commodore USA Amiga Blackberry 1000X" available for $5,999 (please allow 90 days shipping from Florida) then we'll know for sure.

[Darrin]

From the BBC today:

Research In Motion has posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, sending its shares up nearly 18% in after-hours trading.

The maker of the Blackberry also boosted its cash pile, as it nears the launch of its next-generation devices.

RIM reported a net loss of $235m (£145m) for the second quarter, ending 1 September, compared with a profit of $329m for the period last year.

Excluding one-time restructuring items, the loss was $142m.

RIM increased its cash to about $2.3bn from $2.2bn.

Being able to dip into a cash reserve could be key to a successful launch of RIM's line of revamped smartphones that will run on its new Blackberry 10, or BB10, operating system.

The struggling company has staked its future on BB10.

Once a smartphone pioneer, RIM's fortunes have faded as rivals such as Apple and Samsung have taken market share.

Thorsten Heins, chief executive of the Ontario-based firm, said: "Despite the significant changes we are implementing across the organization, our second quarter results demonstrate that RIM is progressing on its financial and operational commitments during this major transition."

Technology analyst Rob Enderle, of the Enderle Group, told the BBC: "RIM's turnaround will have to wait until the new platform comes out.

"Its strength is the business-centric audience - and what's hurting them most is they still don't have Blackberry 10 to offer them.

"But given the business market is not that happy with Android over security, and Apple's prevalance means it is also becoming a target - there is still a reasonable chance RIM can still come back.

"Of course, Microsoft is targeting the same audience with Windows Phone 8, but there is an opportunity for a challenger in 2013."

RIM said it shipped 7.4 million Blackberry smartphones in the quarter and 130,000 BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

Things that amaze me:

Making a $235m quarterly loss rather than a profit of $329m can increase your share price by 18%!

They increased their cash to about $2.3bn from $2.2bn.  I guess Bill lent them some money.

On the positive side, that massive cash reserve could really help them launch a new product, but is it way too late?  The company I'm consulting for are replacing their Blackberry phones this year with Apple phones (despite the security fears).