This isn’t the last we’ve heard of Samsung buying BlackBerry
How does that old song go? Everything old is new again? I’m reminded of it every time Samsung and BlackBerry get wrapped up in some will-they-won’t-they acquisition intrigue like they did yesterday. In case you somehow missed all the fun, Reuters reported that Samsung offered a cool $7.5 billion to BlackBerry as part of a potential buyout deal. In the hours that followed, BlackBerry balked, Samsung shot the notion down and investor hope — seen in the form of surging BBRY stock prices — all but evaporated.
Samsung and BlackBerry have an interesting history together, at least as far as rumored business tie-ups go. In very early 2012, a poorly sourced acquisition report from a tech blog caused BlackBerry (well, RIM at the time) shares to surge in price. Samsung denied it was looking for a deal. Then, later that year, Jeffries analyst Peter Misek released a note to investors fingering Samsung as the company most likely or most interested in licensing BlackBerry 10 for its own phones. Considering how fervently Samsung’s been trying to make its alternative Tizen platform a thing, that scenario doesn’t seem all that outlandish. So what’s different this time around? Why would Samsung want to envelop BlackBerry in its many folds? Well, a bunch of reasons, really.
First up, there’s the patent angle. The folks in Waterloo have nearly 44,000 patents tucked away in BlackBerry’s global coffers (about 10 percent were granted in the US), including a set of recently awarded ones that protect concepts like a wearable that lets users access their phones without punching in a code first. Fine, that one in particular is hardly intriguing, but make no mistake: BlackBerry has some really juicy ones. Law360 did a deep dive back in 2013 and found that of the lot of them, 2,500 BlackBerry patents pertaining to “Security, Email, Messaging [and] Data Delivery” provide the backbone for the company’s standout security and networking features.
Those patents — and their analogs filed in different countries to afford BlackBerry global intellectual protection — are worth a small fortune alone. Still others pertaining specifically to information encryption (mostly owned by a BlackBerry subsidiary called Certicom) are being licensed for use by the United States government because the elliptic-curve cryptography techniques they outline are just that good. What happens when other security-minded organizations bite the bullet and decide they need to use that tech too? They pay up, big. Cha-ching for BlackBerry, and that revenue stream could be Samsung’s too.
And hell, let’s just get really pragmatic here. Remember Nortel? We can’t blame you if you don’t, but the former communications juggernaut sold off over 6,000 of its patents and patent applications in mid-2011 in exchange for around $4.5 billion. Even if all Samsung wanted to do was flip BlackBerry’s huge store of intellectual property, it’d still have a somewhat decent chance of turning a profit. Oh, and that’s not to mention the extra ammunition that IP would provide if/when Samsung gets wrapped up in another giant legal kerfuffle like it did with Apple. Patents are power, protection and profit all rolled into one.
But let’s take the legal nitty-gritty of patents out of the mix for just a moment. Despite a shift to alternative devices and platforms, BlackBerry’s phones and services are still being used by businesses, conglomerates and governments the world over. That’s a level of enterprise savvy and infiltration that Samsung hasn’t yet been able to match, even with its Knox security initiative on the books and some promising momentum — why, just last year the NSA gave Knox its blessing for governmental use… after a handful of security researchers managed to poke disputable holes in the fabric of Samsung’s security. If Samsung wants to truly own the enterprise space, picking off one of its most notable (and most vulnerable) competitors is a great way to do it.
And hey, it’s not like BlackBerry has a huge hand in making phones now anyway; its deal with Foxconn allows the company to essentially offload not just the manufacturing, but also the distribution of future BlackBerrys straight to the Chinese company. Design work is still done in-house, but Samsung could easily take over those teams and keep a quiet stream of new BlackBerrys flowing if it wanted to.
So yes, there are a few perfectly plausible reasons why Samsung would (and arguably should) snap up BlackBerry. But why now? It’s all about the shifting market, friends. The Samsung we have now isn’t exactly the same, old “let’s throw everything at the wall and see if it sticks” company we’re so used to watching. It’s not selling as many of its flagship phones as it thought it would, and you can’t really deny that those devices have been a big driver of growth for Samsung these past few years. In order to please all those finicky shareholders, Samsung’s got to keep the gravy train going, and when growth in one direction slows, you’d better believe the company will try to find a catalyst to make sure things move.
On the flip side, BlackBerry’s starting to dust itself off a bit now that former Sybase chief John Chen is sitting at the head table. It’s cutting costs. It’s retuning to the company’s mission. It’s pushing ever closer to profitability. Hell, it just might get there (Chen says it’ll happen sometime in 2016), and by then, it’ll be that much more expensive a target for anyone looking to buy. By kicking off these talks now, Samsung just might be trying to buy low.
Even now, some might balk at the price Samsung reportedly offered — after all, the deal involved paying a hefty premium on each of BlackBerry’s shares. And BlackBerry’s reported $7.5 billion price tag stands in stark contrast to the relatively paltry $200-ish million Samsung paid for SmartThings, an originally crowdfunded hardware company that the Korean titan gobbled up not too long ago. Here’s the thing about the Internet of Things market: It’s young. It hasn’t solidified yet. There’s no clear market winner. You can think of Samsung’s $200 million as a ground-floor investment. But BlackBerry? That’s a company with rebounding clout, and one of the most ardent, devoted and possibly craziest fan bases you’ll ever see. Alas, both companies have buttoned up on the matter, so we might not ever know what they saw in each other. One thing’s for sure, though: This isn’t the last time you’ll hear these rumors. Everything old is new again.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Blackberry
Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop vs KitKat comparison: what was once old is now new
The Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy S5 has been slowly rolling out around the world for a few weeks now, and it’s high time that we start seeing some comparisons between the outgoing Android KitKat software and the silky smooth Lollipop. Thanks to Phone Arena, we now have a Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop vs […]
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Samsung Hires new Head of Design Again
After replacing its Head of Design last year due to dismal reviews of the aesthetics of the Galaxy S5, Samsung is again changing things up on the personnel side of things. Lee Dontae, former head of Tangerine, has been hired as the new Head of Design for the Korean tech company. Tangerine, as you may recall, was founded by Jonathan Ive, Apple’s current Senior VP of Design. Lee Dontae has made a name for himself in the world of design, consulting with companies like Samsung, LG, Toyota, and British Airways.
Lee Dontae’s official title is VP and Global Design Head of the Design Management Center. He is hoping to elevate the design prowess across the board, instead of focusing on one product. This is welcome news for tech lovers everywhere, and potentially Samsung’s upcoming sales figures. For quite a while, it seems that Samsung has been stuck in the “Design Doldrums,” with a relatively stagnant aesthetic ideal.
Do you think these changes will help Samsung embark on the next leg of its journey in the right direction? Or will it just be more of the same, to the chagrin of potential customers? LEave a comment below and let us know what you think!
Source: Korea Herald
Via: 9to5 Google
Come comment on this article: Samsung Hires new Head of Design Again
Reuters: Samsung considering $7.5B purchase of BlackBerry
If the rumor is true, Samsung may be considering the purchase of the Ontario-based BlackBerry for as much as $7.5B.
According to Reuters, who have seen documents and who has a source familiar with the matter, Samsung is considering purchasing BlackBerry seeking its valuable patents as it battles Apple.
Reuters comments that Samsung’s strength as the No. 1 global smart phone marker has been built on making devices for the consumer market, which has become crowded in recent years, but with a takeover of Blackberry, it could help the Korean-based Samsung with the corporate market.
Not straying too far from it’s current business model, BlackBerry just launched its long-awaited Classic model on Wednesday, hoping to help win back a share of the smartphone market share. The smartphone resembles its once popular Bold and Curve handsets with its classic physical keyboard.
BlackBerry issued a released on the matter and said that while it’s aware of certain press reports published Wednesday with respect to a possible offer by Samsung to purchase BlackBerry, it “has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry” and that “BlackBerry’s policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation, and accordingly it does not intend to comment further.”
VIA Reuters, BlackBerry
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Samsung’s tough year ahead
A fresh new year is already well underway. CES is in the rear view mirror. MWC is on the horizon. Samsung has a tough challenge ahead to arrest its slump in profits and maintain its dominance of the smartphone industry. Can it cope with Chinese competition and falling prices? Can a combination of brand power and innovation help a slimmed down Samsung soar to new heights? One thing’s for sure – there’s a lot at stake this year for Samsung.
A year to forget
It’s tough at the top. The weight of expectation is enormous. The new narrative in town is that Samsung is in trouble. We heard that Samsung sold 40% fewer Galaxy S5s than expected. Mobile sales for Samsung hit a peak in Q3 of 2013 and they’ve been steadily declining since then and so, consequently, have profits.
A couple of major trends have hit Samsung hard. Commoditization is driving the average selling price of smartphones down. Developed markets in Europe, the US, Japan and South Korea are saturated. The growth is in emerging markets like China, India, and Brazil.
Samsung is being significantly undercut by a wave of Chinese manufacturers that includes Xiaomi, Lenovo, and Huawei. Samsung is spending more on marketing and R&D, but charging less for its smartphones. Even Samsung’s South Korean compatriot, LG, is selling its flagship smartphones for less. To sum it up simply, the competition is getting tougher. We took a look at this in Samsung is falling, but who is rising?
How bad are things for Samsung really?
There’s plenty of room for Samsung to arrest the decline and it will maintain its dominant position for quite some time even if the downward trend does continue.
Let’s not get carried away here. Samsung generated $4 billion net profit in the third quarter of 2014 and it estimates the fourth quarter will be worth $4.5 billion. That doesn’t sound like a company in free fall. It’s more than Google made, and to put it in perspective, the ascendant LG’s net profit for the same period was $193 million.
According to Gartner Samsung sold 24.4% of all the smartphones sold worldwide in the third quarter of 2014, down from its all-time high of 32.1% for the same quarter in 2013. Apple was a distant second on 12.7% and then came Huawei (5.3%), Xiaomi (5.2%), and Lenovo (5%).
There’s plenty of room for Samsung to arrest the decline and it will maintain its dominant position for quite some time even if the downward trend does continue. But there’s also a dawning reality that the days of bumper profits from Android smartphones may be over. Everyone is already looking to the next new must-have category and most are betting big on wearables.
Cutting the dead wood
Failing to react to a slump will kill you. If that narrative about Samsung in trouble continues to gather pace it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The stock market is a confidence game. A continuous stream of negative articles about any company is going to impact consumers eventually. Just ask RIM and Nokia.
There are signs that Samsung is taking it seriously and addressing major criticisms.
- Samsung will make 25-30% fewer smartphones in 2015
- Dozens of Samsung mobile division executives dismissed from posts
- Samsung to shut down WatchON
- Samsung closes flagship London store
- Samsung will shut down ChatON
- Samsung boss takes a pay cut
- Samsung will simplify and optimize TouchWiz
- Samsung plans budget line for China
- Samsung Galaxy Alpha features metal design
Some of these moves are clearly designed to answer critics. Samsung has long been criticized for its throw-everything-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach to smartphone lines. The fact it doesn’t use premium materials in its flagships, preferring plastic, has garnered much derision. Complaints about the poor quality and bloated nature of its software and services have followed Samsung around like a bad smell.
These are issues that have loomed large in the tech press, on forums, and in comment sections. If we’re really honest about it, there’s no evidence that the general phone-buying public cares about these things. After all, Samsung just beat Apple for consumer satisfaction according to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index.
Are these the right moves?
It makes sense for Samsung to scale back on software and services. It has failed to gain traction here. Why throw good money after bad? People are not going to buy into a Samsung ecosystem and there’s no way the company can afford to lose Google services that it can’t hope to match.
Tizen is being aimed at the budget market and possibly new device categories, it’s not a competitor for Android, as evidenced by the news it will support some Android apps. Maybe it will in the future, but that’s a distant prospect right now.
If Samsung does scale back TouchWiz and start producing premium metallic designs will it win over critics?
If Samsung does scale back TouchWiz and start producing premium metallic designs will it win over critics? Will people applaud it for scaling back its product lines? We’ll have to wait and see. The Galaxy S6 is obviously going to be key.
For all the criticism Samsung gets about copying, people forget that it significantly outspends the competition on research and development. It may not have created the phablet category, but it certainly popularized it with the Note line. The Galaxy Note Edge was one of the few glimmers of originality in the smartphone market last year.
If Samsung can come up with a gorgeous premium design, optimize that software, and offer something innovative into the bargain, then it can turn the current perception around. But it’s a big ask to pull off the complete package in the forthcoming S6.
Check out our Galaxy S6 rumor roundup for all the latest speculation.
Is the budget battle worth fighting?
Going toe to toe at the budget end could prove tougher. Should Samsung even try to do it? Does it have to? Samsung exec Robert Yi was recently quoted on Xiaomi saying, “They are a mysterious entity. I don’t know where they create profit.” The truth is Samsung can’t match low prices and continue to spend big on R&D and marketing or the margin will be squeezed and squeezed. There’s a reason that Apple doesn’t compete in the budget market. Maybe Samsung should focus on the premium end of the market and seek out pastures new in wearables instead.
What do you predict for Samsung this year? Would you give it another chance if the S6 impressed you? Are you engaging in schadenfreude over the downward trend, or do you hope the company will return to form?
Samsung explains Tizen is “lighter” than other software
Take a look at any Android device manufactured by Samsung and the common theme is the software. The company aims to improve upon Android with its own software overlay called TouchWiz. Some consumers feel that TouchWiz is overbearing and too confusing; however, that has not stopped Samsung from selling millions of devices with it. And TouchWiz has come very far since its inception and now looks much more clean. With Tizen, the company’s in-house software, ready for showtime, Samsung wants to inform everyone of its benefits. Tizen is said to be “lighter” than other operating systems because of its less demanding requirements.
Here is a piece of what Samsung had to say about Tizen’s benefits:
The benefits of Tizen are very simple: Tizen is “lighter” than other operating systems. In other words, Tizen requires less processing power and memory, thereby ensuring faster device speeds while consuming less energy. As a result, consumers will benefit from a smoother user experience through the likes of shorter boot time, faster web browsing and seamless multitasking, all the while enjoying longer battery life.
Because it is lightweight, Tizen is optimal for use across a wide spectrum of smart connected devices in the IoT space. While devices with high demand for computing power, such as smartphones and TVs, are part of the IoT, so are devices that require relatively less computing power, such as wearables, vacuum cleaners and washing machines, which need an operating system like Tizen that is lightweight enough to run the devices without burning through processing power, memory and overall device performance.
Samsung will remain committed to other operating systems (or at least for now). Why? Because it is already so invested in Android. Samsung says its ongoing commitment to other operating systems ensures “seamless interoperability and connectivity among the billions of devices being used daily.”
Source: Samsung Tomorrow
Come comment on this article: Samsung explains Tizen is “lighter” than other software
Samsung Galaxy S6 may not use as many Snapdragon 810 processors due to overheating
When Qualcomm announced the availability of the 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor, we knew it would be all but a lock to feature in Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S6. Unfortunately though, the Snapdragon 810 appears to have severe overheating issues, and Samsung is rumoured to be reducing the volume of Galaxy S6 devices […]
The post Samsung Galaxy S6 may not use as many Snapdragon 810 processors due to overheating appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Samsung offers to purchase BlackBerry
In the surprise news of the day, Samsung recently made an offer to buy BlackBerry for $7.5 billion. Reuters is reporting that Samsung set the initial price range of $13.35 to $15.49 per share, which translates to a premiumof 38 percent to 60 percent over the current trading price.
So what would Samsung want with such a failing company? According to Reuters, it’s all about the patents. BlackBerry owns roughly 44,000 patents, worth approximately $1.43 billion in net book value. However, a lot of analysts think they are worth much more. Unfortunately BlackBerry isn’t interested in selling only the patents, so Samsung would need to buy the whole company in order to obtain them.
The other problem is getting approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as the Canadian government. Samsung does think that if they were to acquire less than 100 percent of the company, the CFIUS approval process would be much easier. However, Samsung doesn’t think they could “accomplish its strategic objectives” without owning 100 percent.
BlackBerry said they have “not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry.”
This could get very interesting so stay tuned.
source: Reuters
Come comment on this article: Samsung offers to purchase BlackBerry
Samsung reportedly in talks to buy Blackberry for $7.5 billion
According to a new report from Reuters, Samsung is in talks to buy Blackberry for $7.5 billion. The South Korean electronics company is interested in the company for Blackberry’s patent portfolio, according to unnamed sources associated with Reuters. Samsung didn’t offer a flat rate of $7.5 billion, though they put in an offer to buy individual shares for $13.35 to $15.49 per share. As long as currency conversions change over correctly, Samsung could end up paying anywhere from $6 billion to $7.5 billion for the company, as long as the $1.25 billion in debt transfers over as well. Reportedly, this represents a premium of 38% to 60% over Blackberry’s current trading price.
This isn’t really anything surprising, though. Blackberry has been struggling for quite some time to get the company out of the red. After countless failed smartphone attempts and US carriers refusing to carry their products, Blackberry has been dead in the water for quite some time. If you can remember back to November 2014, Samsung and Blackberry were in talks to improve Android’s enterprise security through Samsung devices. Now, Samsung devices might get even more security-centric if this sale goes through. Remember, this is just a rumor so far, and nothing is confirmed yet. Stay tuned to Android Authority for more coverage as this rumor develops.
New owner’s manual for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 updated with Lollipop screens
Samsung appears to be getting very close to releasing the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone. A strong indicator that this is close to happening is the availability of the manual for the Galaxy Note 4 that has been updated to include screenshots and information referring to Android Lollipop.
Reports from people who have seen some early builds of Lollipop on both the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy S 5 indicate Samsung did a good job of incorporating Google’s Material Design philosophy into the TouchWiz UI. The notification area and animations used by Samsung mimic the default Android Lollipop, so anyone familiar with Lollipop should not be in for any surprises.
Even within apps like the Dialer or Contacts, Samsung has incorporated Google’s design standards, so users will see a fresh splash of color when using these apps. There is still no word on exactly when Samsung will release the Lollipop update or how long it will take carriers to prepare their own updates to roll out to users. However, if you want to check out the new owner’s manual, hit the source link below to grab the PDF.
source: Galaxy Club
via: phoneArena
Come comment on this article: New owner’s manual for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 updated with Lollipop screens
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