Both Research in Motion and Nokia will "Disappear" in 2013, Analyst Says

Research In Motion and Nokia will not exist in 2013, according to 24/7 Wall St.  Five years ago, RIM was the only smartphone company of any size, and it had almost the entire corporate market. But it made a fatal mistake in failing to adapt its technology for consumer use. 


RIM once owned the smartphone market. Its BlackBerry products were used largely by businesses. It is hardly worth repeating the story of how RIM was late to the consumer market, where it has been pounded relentlessly by Apple and an army of Google Android phones from manufacturers as diverse as China’s HTC, South Korea’s Samsung and Motorola in the U.S. 


The pace at which the company fell apart was even more extraordinary than its rise, says Douglas McIntyre of 24/7 Wall Street. Revenue and net income jumped from $6 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively, in fiscal 2008 to $20 billion and $3.4 billion in fiscal 2011.


But research group NPD recently reported that RIM’s U.S. market share was 44 percent in 2009 but only 10 percent in 2011. 

RIM cannot survive as a standalone operation, McIntyre believes, a view that probably now represents the overwhelming consensus of industry watchers. 



In Nov. 2011, Ericsson sold its half of the Sony Ericsson mobile phone business, but surviving provider Sony now faces a smart phone industry dominated by Apple and Google’s Android. 


Nokia likewise will fail, he argues, though some would say Microsoft's backing might make a difference.