A massive service outage spanning over three days, an appalling financial outlook, lackluster sales of its recently released Bold 9900 and now this. Boy, things are getting from bad to worse for RIM and Blackberry.

Data from comScore’s Mobilens survey reveals that RIM lost 1.8 million user in the US in the third quarter of this year. Even more damaging, the fall comes after RIM loss 1 million subscribers in the second quarter. In contrast, Google’s Android user base grew 7.78 million subscribers and Apple grew 3.19 million users in the same period.

Overall, RIM is the only manufacturer that is seeing its market share rapidly dwindling while Google emerged as the clear leader in US smartphone growth followed by Apple. Microsoft and even Symbian are also seeing growth — albeit at a slower pace — in the same quarter.

The figures will be seriously disappointing for RIM, which has built up a huge inventory of BlackBerry 7 phones and PlayBook tablets. This explains the global trend of reducing prices and bundling BlackBerry devices together to get as much BlackBerry units off store as quickly as possible.

BlackBerry users, what are your thoughts? Are you still with BlackBerry or have you shifted to Android or iPhone?

Table showing how the brands stack up after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

	BlackBerry, Mobile Devices
	blackberry, rim, subscribers, users

The Star reports Green Packet is looking to make good progress this year with more jobs and a bigger WiMAX subscriber base in the midst.

To start of the year Green Packet announce a HKD3million deal with Hong Kong’s PCCW Group to provide customised product solutions. Although this is a relatively small amount for the industry, Green Packet sees the deal as a giant leap forward towards making inroads into Hong Kong.

Green Packet group managing director Puan Chan Cheong expects the company to clinch more contracts in the first quarter of this year. He is also confident over the growth of subscriber base for its WiMAX solutions.

“Our 5-year plan is going as scheduled. We got out there, set up our base stations and provided the WiMAX service. We kept our promise and the results will start to show,” says Puan.

He says that in five years, the service provider division, (which houses its WiMAX business, handled by subsidiary Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd) will account for two-thirds of group revenue while about a third will come from its bread-and-butter solutions division.

Green Packet presently has more than 10,000 WiMAX subscribers. Puan is confident of clinching 200,000 subscribers by year-end.

As it stands, Green Packet provides WiMAX in over 200 sites throughout the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Alor Setar and Penang. By June 2009, Puan expects Green Packet to be on track to provide WiMAX to 30% of Peninsular Malaysia or a total of 600 sites, not too far from its target of 800 sites by year-end.

[SOURCE]

	Industry in General, P1, Players on the Field, WiMAX
	Green Packet, P1, packet one, PCCW, Puan Chan Cheong, subscribers, WiMAX