Beleaguered BlackBerry (née Research In Motion), one of several examples of iPhone roadkill, said on Tuesday it would sell patents, primarily related to its mobile devices, for up to $900 million after outfit scrapped an earlier deal to sell the patents to Catapult IP Innovations Inc.
Malikie Innovations Ltd will buy the patents and pay $170 million in cash on deal closing, and another $30 million three years later. BlackBerry will also get annual cash royalties from the profits generated from the patents, relating to its messaging and wireless networking among others.
Malikie is a newly formed unit of intellectual property monetization firm Key Patent Innovations Ltd.
Blackberry said last year it was exploring other options to sell its patents as the planned deal with Catapult IP Innovations Inc was taking longer than usual to close, leading to a loss in exclusivity.
Last year, the company pulled the plug on service for its smartphones, a culmination of years of market share loss to Apple’s iPhones…
MacDailyNews Take: Amateur hour limps along pitifully, but not for too much longer.
RIM is a dead company walking. – MacDailyNews Take, August 23, 2010
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Competition is good for Apple customers. I will not celebrate like some others. I wish the best for all of Apple’s competitors.
I’ve lived long enough to see how the more monopolistic a business sector gets (or was) the more it creates (or had) bad products, poor innovation, bad customer service and sky high prices.
I hope as the prices of Apple products continue to rise and probably continue to accelerate in the near future, people keep this in mind.
Year 2023 and still reading headlines with the word “beleaguered” in it. Could you just move on, turn the page, overcome this???
Agree 100%. How about using ‘troubled’ instead for a change.
“Beleaguered” is used extensively by MDN to describe Apple’s vanquished conquests for a reason. No, I’m not letting you in on it.
Never stop, MDN. Never stop.
Balsillie on the iPhone in February 2007: “It’s kind of one more entrant into an already very busy space with lots of choice for consumers … But in terms of a sort of a sea-change for BlackBerry, I would think that’s overstating it.”
Mike Lazaridis on the iPhone in November 2007: “Try typing a web key on a touchscreen on an Apple iPhone, that’s a real challenge. You cannot see what you type”
In May 2008, Mike Lazaridis “The most exciting mobile trend is … Full Qwerty keyboards. I’m sorry, it really is.”
Lazaridis, “…-the customers are now coming to the store and saying I didn’t know you could do all that with a phone. And when they get there they realize there’s a selection–there’s not just one device. And so what it’s actually done is increased our sales.”
Lazaridis, “”I’ll think you’ll just be amazed that how it’s [Blackberry 6 platform] a quantum leap over anything that’s out there,”
The hubris was very strong with these guys.
Excellent story on BB’s downfall here:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/excerpt-how-blackberrys-bid-to-one-up-the-iphone-failed/article24555365/
It’s not that they lost out that is ‘funny’, it’s the spouting off of their hubris inflated over-weening bullshit!
Disagree. They lost is indeed the most important of all and soon will close up shop completes the defeat.
For example, no loss of chest pounding “hubris” in the White House DAILY from the worst president and worst economic policies (none), record inflation and record high prices.
So it’s important the braggart Joker defeated in parallel construction with Blackberry losing…
Wait —Blackberry is still around?!! 🤔