T900 is not the one to be checked out:
MOT's products are targeted to various markets and the very fact that people insist that their T900 is threatening RIM's 850/950, let alone the BlackBerry 850/950/857/957, is not a viable argument. If you believe this ask yourself this, 'did they bring out the T900 to damage the sales of their higher end products such as the Timeport P930/935, PageWriter 2000x (replaced the model 2000?'
If you are going to compare devices shouldn't we be using the Motorola PageWriter 2000x or even the Timeport P930/935 as those are the closest to what RIM offers in their present devices (although they lack microprocessor etc). I'm sure that MOT didn't release this T900 (not PC compatible nor upgradeable) to compete against it's own 2000x, it was released to compete against other mass market devices that are either out there now or will soon be. I'm sure that the AOL/RIM device will be an interesting and superlative alternative to the T900.
MOT comparison chart for their 2-way devices:
(1 MB of total memory is for applications and data in the 2000x/P930. Future software may change memory configuration)
commerce.motorola.com
RIM comparison chart for their Wireless Handhelds:
rim.net
You also need to watch those per character charges as you might be in for a big surprise on your first invoice after realizing that characters includes the spaces as well and you can go through 150K (based on so many character increments per message) very quickly, charges by the character; monthly bills could exceed hundreds of dollars. Do you know if any of the network providers for the T900 are offering unlimited monthly service charges and if so what is it priced at? How much do they charge for character block
when going over their limit? Are these prices for Regional or Nationwide? I'm also interested in knowing the maximum number of characters that can be sent in one transmission over the T900 since it's memory is only 128K and I'm sure that you're going to use alot of that for the address book that can store up to 250 contacts. I read somewhere that the T900 sends about the first 30 words of any message and if you want the next 30 words, you have to select the ``More'' option and wait a minute or two for the next 30 words.
Ready, Aim, Wire(less)
Corporate cowboys are strapping on mobile communication devices so they can be free to roam. YourTech's gadget boss gives you the lowdown on devices and services.
Julio Ojeda-Zapata Staff Writer
Published: Monday, December 4, 2000
(snipit)
Pagers that do the Net
A new breed of Net-savvy pagers represents a liberating alternative to PDA/modem combos that keep users inconveniently tethered to phone lines.
Some pagers are ``one-way'' devices that let users get electronic messages but don't allow them to respond. More advanced models have ``two-way'' capabilities along with tiny thumb-operated keyboards that essentially turn them into mini-laptops for swapping various forms of electronic mail, including Internet e-mail.
Motorola has an apparent hit in its colorful Talkabout T900 two-way ``personal interactive communicators,'' which are aimed at teen-agers. Research in Motion devices that are physically identical to low-end BlackBerrys are filtering into the consumer world, too. Motient sells a ``Yahoo-fortified'' (RIM850) version. America Online last week trotted out its own device (AOL Mobile Communicator) for subscribers of the leading online service.
We strapped on a T900 and a Motient eLink pager(RIM850-$335) -- not both at once, that would have been too geeky -- to see how pager-centric online access compared to the PDA approach. Our first hurdle: adjusting to the pagers' much-smaller screens. The T900 accommodates only 80 characters and four lines, for instance.
We coped. The T900 proved terrific for whipping out short messages to Internet or pager users. For a time, we also forwarded our Yahoo mail to the pager's e-mail address. This was a mixed blessing -- an always-beeping gizmo is more of an annoyance than a convenience, except when monitoring e-mail is an overriding necessity.
For Yahoo fanatics, the Motient eLink is a superb choice. We enjoyed painless access to our Yahoo Mail inbox as well as instant messaging via Yahoo Messenger. A ``mobile Web browser'' let us to tap into Yahoo news headlines, stock quotes, movie listings and more, not to mention our Yahoo address book and calendar. Browser categories can be customized by accessing the Yahoo site using a conventional computer.
As for the physical eLink, we liked it more than the T900 because of a slightly larger and much-easier-to read screen, a scrolling wheel for zipping through message headings and menu items, and a mini-keyboard we think is a bit easier to thumb-operate than that of the Motorola pager.
Motorola makes a Timeport P935(SR$399.99) device that is a larger, souped-up version of the T900. Along with two-way messaging, users get PDA-like functions -- such as a calendar, contact manager, task minder and calculator -- all of which the eLink also offers but with fewer bells and whistles.
(this article expired 7 days from original date of publication)
pioneerplanet.com:80/seven-days/1/tech/docs/027041.htm
elinkhere.com
(MOT)Reduction in staff and selling off assets should help their bottom line. Going to an EMS, for their wireless telecommunications products, such as cellular phones, messaging devices, two-way radio products and related accessories. Which should further reduce the costs in the long run, I realize they're trying to turn this division around.
newswire.ca
Like I've said before "Gilmore was about more than just handsets... Jeez, Motorola Communications Enterprise was only formed in 1998 and is responsible for more than two-thirds of the company’s business... It sounds more like the company needs to blame someone and I guess it's easier for them to find a scapegoat in order to save face." Did you know Gilmore? Did you see what he envisioned?
messages.yahoo.com
Outsourcing to CLS is a benefit to me, I have a long position in CLS.
StockJock-e RIMM's one and only product...
Kinda like saying Palm only makes one product? Both Palm & RIM manufacture devices for those who are mobile, one more particular to being wireless than the other ie, and both have their own O/S, again one slightly developer friendlier than the other. Did you know that RIM manufactures more than the 11 different models of their wireless handhelds (not counting European models)? Did you know that RIM has more software engineers than hardware engineers? Did you know about their developer's Zone?
developers.rim.net
Did yo know about their PCMCIA Wireless Cards:
rim.net
Did you know about their Embedded Radio Modems(4 types)? They are embedded within a broad range of products that require wireless connectivity, including handhelds, laptops, point-of-sale terminals, bank machines, billboards and other displays, monitoring and metering equipment, vending machines, GPS systems and automobiles:
rim.net
developers.rim.net
StockJock-e: Same way HAND, SONY etc got into PDA to compete with Palm, competition will trim RIMM's margins and bottom line
Research In Motion and their Wireless (Data/Communication) Handhelds (WDCH):
boards.fool.com
Thus competition is once again proving to be the vehicle for the advancement of technology and we will see a faster adoption in the field of technology compared to any other sector. People can and have the right to dream of what the future will bring and are willing participants in adopting new technologies.
boards.fool.com
With regards to margins, yes RIM has stated that GPM will fall from the present 42% because the reason they were that high in the first place was because of higher than expected software/service sales. I suspect that as production is ramped up, with new facilities that should be up and running late winter/early spring, they will be more than able to reduce margins in order to lower the prices of their products as demand increases.
Demand & supply, it's there.
As far as present valuation, well....
messages.yahoo.com
messages.yahoo.com
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