RIM’s Jim Balsillie And Mike Lazaridis Step Down, Names Thorsten Heins New CEO

Board Acts on Recommendation of Co-CEOs to Implement Succession Plan - Mike Lazaridis Named Vice Chair of the Board - Jim Balsillie Remains a Director - Barbara Stymiest Named Independent Board Chair - Prem Watsa Named Independent Director

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, Jan 22, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Board of Directors of BlackBerry(R) maker Research In Motion (RIM) /quotes/zigman/18534/quotes/nls/rimm RIMM +0.53% /quotes/zigman/18555 CA:RIM -3.09% today announced that, acting on the recommendation of its Co-Chief Executive Officers to implement the succession plan they previously submitted to the Board, it has unanimously named Thorsten Heins as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Heins was also appointed to RIM's Board. The Board acted after conducting its own due diligence. Both appointments are effective immediately.

Mike Lazaridis, former Co-Chair and Co-CEO, has become Vice Chair of RIM's Board and Chair of the Board's new Innovation Committee. As Vice Chair, he will work closely with Mr. Heins to offer strategic counsel, provide a smooth transition and continue to promote the BlackBerry brand worldwide.

Mr. Heins said he looks forward to continuing to work with Mr. Lazaridis, globally recognized as a technology pioneer. He said, "Mike created a whole new way of communicating and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration."

T-Mobile Could Net $3 Billion Through Tower Sale

T-Mobile’s exploration of a sale of its tower system could net the company as much as $3 billion for parent Deutsche Telekom, according to Macquarie Capital USA Inc. Macquarie analyst Kevin Smithen wrote in a note that American Tower Corp., Crown Castle International Corp. and SBA Communications Corp are all in “a hotly contested auction” of T-Mobile towers. The expected price is at least $2.25 billion but could go as high as $3 billion.

“All three tower companies have expressed strong interest” in T-Mobile towers, Smithen wrote.

T-Mobile is considering the tower sale as a way to fund future spectrum purchases and a LTE network, Deutsche Telekom’s Chief Financial Officer Timotheus Hoettges said last month.

Smithen estimated that T-Mobile currently has 7,500, making up the largest network that would go up for sale barring any future offer from AT&T or Verizon Wireless.

Deutsche Telekom declined to comment as did representatives for American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA communications.

This move isn’t unheard of as Sprint undertook a similar offer three years ago agreeing to sell their cellular towers to TowerCo and then signing a lease for the same towers. Sprint sold approximately 3,080 towers raising $670 million dollars which went to pay down Sprint’s debt. This move wouldn’t see T-Mobile giving up any tower space nor would coverage be affected in anyway. T-Mobile would simply turn from buyer to leaser and pocketing the cash. I’d much rather see T-Mobile build an LTE network on their own through the money generated via a tower sale than having to seek an outside partner.

Motorola Is Looking For Software Testers for the Motorola Photon 4G

Motorola has made an official request for "Pre-release software testers" of an unknown update for the Motorola Photon 4G. This is standard practice for Motorola, who likes to slowly roll out their final builds to a select few in what they call a "soak test". This gives Motorola (and the carriers) a bigger set of eyeballs looking for any potential bugs that limited internal testing just didn't find.  

In the past we've seen soak tests for updates both big and small, so there's no knowing exactly what this one is going to be. We can't see the future, but I don't think this one will be Ice Cream Sandwich. But any update is good news as long as it makes things better. Motorola needs a thousand testers, and I think you guys are up to the challenge -- hit the source link and sign up!

Source: Motorola  

BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 Said To Launch February 17th

It seems like RIM has been promising to release the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 update forever. Now, a source described by Berry Review as being "solid" is telling the site that RIM is indeed committed to launching the firmware update and says that it will be launched on February 17th. Whether or not the improvements that the update will bring are enough to generate some much needed sales for the tablet are another kettle of fish entirely.

The improvements in BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 bring a new e-mail client to the device along with a calendar app and a contacts list that is integrated with LinkedIn. Additionally, some new enhancements have been made to the BlackBerry Bridge. When we showed you a video demonstration of the OS earlier this month, we told you that some Android apps were running on Playbook 2.0 and we were told that existing Android apps can be submitted by developers to BlackBerry AppWorld.

If RIM does rollout the PlayBook OS 2.0 update on February 17th, it would be nearly 10 months after the launch of the actual BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. That really seems too long to wait to make much-needed improvements to the device. With RIM's recently leaked roadmap showing that the Canadian manufacturer plans on releasing two tablets this year, including a first anniversary BlackBerry PlayBook refresh, RIM will need to prove that it can produce a tablet that can compete in a highly competitive market.

Carl Icahn Buys $300 Million of LightSquared Debt

Carl Icahn has scooped up a large portion of LightSquared debt, totaling $300 million worth of the company's $1.6 billion in loans. The move is a strategic one that could give Icahn a say in the company's future, should its bid to run a Long Term Evolution 4G network on the L-band satellite spectrum fails. LightSquared is being funded by Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital, which is currently under SEC investigation. LightSquared has the cash to operate for a few more quarters while it continues to petition the Federal Communications Commission for permission to run its network. Some believe LightSquared will run out of cash before it garners FCC approval. Icahn has a long history of activist investing, notably with Motorola.

Microsoft Adding Nokia Branding To Bing Maps

Noki-soft? Micro-ia? The madness continues! Nokia front-man Stephen Elop let it be known that his company's moniker will be making its way to Bing Maps in the near future, and he's not just talking about on the desktop. During a CES interview with Pocket-lint, Elop explained that any "property" utilizing Microsoft's Bing Maps service -- including mobile platforms -- will be co-branded with the Nokia logo. "We are clearly placing a bet on the Windows Phone platform; they [Microsoft] are placing a bet on our location-based platform," he said. The CEO cited BlackBerry as a non-Windows Phone device that will see the Nokia tattoo in its Maps app -- RIM recently announced its intention to integrate Bing Maps at the OS level. No word on when Microsoft branding will make its way onto Nokia software.

Google Releases 4th Quarter 2011 Earnings Report

Image via: Robert Scoble's Flickr

Google has just released their 4th Quarter 2011 earnings report, missing Wall Street targets on total net revenue. Google came in at a non-GAAP net revenue total of $8.13B, short of the $8.40B projections from Wall Street. This move sent Google’s after-trading stock price down a whopping 10%.

There is some good news coming out of Google’s earnings call, however, as Google announced several new statistics that suggest improvements across it’s product lines. Google+ now has 90 million active users, with 60% of these users checking Google+ on a regular basis.

On the Android front, over 250 million Android devices have now been activated, and new devices are being activated to the tune of 700,000 per day. Over 11 billion items (combination of applications, movies, music, and games) have now been downloaded from the Android Market.

One thing is clear; Android continues to enjoy phenomenal growth and will continue to be a big money maker for Google for the foreseeable future. You can see Google’s full press release below.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – January 19, 2012 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced financial results for the quarter and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

“Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year. Full year revenue was up 29%, and our quarterly revenue blew past the $10 billion mark for the first time,” said Larry Page, CEO of Google. “I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally – well over double what I announced just three months ago. By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google+ we will create amazing experiences across our services. I’m very excited about what we can do in 2012 – there are tremendous opportunities to help users and grow our business.”

Q4 Financial Summary

Google reported revenues of $10.58 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 25% compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting traffic acquisition costs (TAC). In the fourth quarter of 2011, TAC totaled $2.45 billion, or 24% of advertising revenues.

Google reports operating income, operating margin, net income, and earnings per share (EPS) on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. The non-GAAP measures, as well as free cash flow, an alternative non-GAAP measure of liquidity, are described below and are reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measures at the end of this release.

GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $3.51 billion, or 33% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $2.98 billion, or 35% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $4.04 billion, or 38% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $3.38 billion, or 40% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010.

GAAP net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $2.71 billion, compared to $2.54 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $3.13 billion, compared to $2.85 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010.

GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $8.22 on 329 million diluted shares outstanding, compared to $7.81 in the fourth quarter of 2010 on 326 million diluted shares outstanding. Non-GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $9.50, compared to $8.75 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP operating margin exclude the expenses related to stock-based compensation (SBC). Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS exclude the expenses related to SBC and the related tax benefits. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the charge related to SBC was $536 million, compared to $396 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. The tax benefit related to SBC was $114 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and $89 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to GAAP operating income, operating margin, net income, and EPS are included at the end of this release.
Q4 Financial Highlights

Revenues – Google reported revenues of $10.58 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, representing a 25% increase over fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $8.44 billion. Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting TAC.

Google Sites Revenues – Google-owned sites generated revenues of $7.29 billion, or 69% of total revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2011. This represents a 29% increase over fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $5.67 billion.

Google Network Revenues – Google’s partner sites generated revenues of $2.88 billion, or 27% of total revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2011. This represents a 15% increase from fourth quarter 2010 network revenues of $2.50 billion.

International Revenues – Revenues from outside of the United States totaled $5.60 billion, representing 53% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 55% in the third quarter of 2011 and 52% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding gains related to our foreign exchange risk management program, had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the third quarter of 2011 through the fourth quarter of 2011, our revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 would have been $239 million higher. Excluding gains related to our foreign exchange risk management program, had foreign exchange rates remained constant from the fourth quarter of 2010 through the fourth quarter of 2011, our revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 would have been $39 million lower.

Revenues from the United Kingdom totaled $1.06 billion, representing 10% of revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 10% in the fourth quarter of 2010.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, we recognized a benefit of $25 million to revenues through our foreign exchange risk management program, compared to $25 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

A reconciliation of our non-GAAP international revenues excluding the impact of foreign exchange and hedging to GAAP international revenues is included at the end of this release.

Paid Clicks – Aggregate paid clicks, which include clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of our Network members, increased approximately 34% over the fourth quarter of 2010 and increased approximately 17% over the third quarter of 2011.

Cost-Per-Click – Average cost-per-click, which includes clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of our Network members, decreased approximately 8% over the fourth quarter of 2010 and decreased approximately 8% over the third quarter of 2011.

TAC – Traffic acquisition costs, the portion of revenues shared with Google’s partners, increased to $2.45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to TAC of $2.07 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. TAC as a percentage of advertising revenues was 24% in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 25% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The majority of TAC is related to amounts ultimately paid to our Network members, which totaled $2.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. TAC also includes amounts ultimately paid to certain distribution partners and others who direct traffic to our website, which totaled $442 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Other Cost of Revenues – Other cost of revenues, which is comprised primarily of data center operational expenses, amortization of intangible assets, content acquisition costs as well as credit card processing charges, increased to $1.25 billion, or 12% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $877 million, or 10% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Operating Expenses – Operating expenses, other than cost of revenues, were $3.38 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, or 32% of revenues, compared to $2.51 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, or 30% of revenues.

Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) – In the fourth quarter of 2011, the total charge related to SBC was $536 million, compared to $396 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

We currently estimate SBC charges for grants to employees prior to January 1, 2012 to be approximately $2.0 billion for 2012. This estimate does not include expenses to be recognized related to employee stock awards that are granted after December 31, 2011 or non-employee stock awards that have been or may be granted.

Operating Income – GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $3.51 billion, or 33% of revenues. This compares to GAAP operating income of $2.98 billion, or 35% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $4.04 billion, or 38% of revenues. This compares to non-GAAP operating income of $3.38 billion, or 40% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net – Interest and other income (expense), net was an expense of $18 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to an income of $160 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Income Taxes – Our effective tax rate was 22% for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Net Income – GAAP net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $2.71 billion, compared to $2.54 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP net income was $3.13 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $2.85 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $8.22 on 329 million diluted shares outstanding, compared to $7.81 in the fourth quarter of 2010 on 326 million diluted shares outstanding. Non-GAAP EPS in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $9.50, compared to $8.75 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Cash Flow and Capital Expenditures – Net cash provided by operating activities in the fourth quarter of 2011 totaled $3.92 billion, compared to $3.53 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. In the fourth quarter of 2011, capital expenditures were $951 million, the majority of which was related to IT infrastructure investments, including data centers, servers, and networking equipment. Free cash flow, an alternative non-GAAP measure of liquidity, is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. In the fourth quarter of 2011, free cash flow was $2.97 billion.

A reconciliation of free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities, the GAAP measure of liquidity, is included at the end of this release.

Cash – As of December 31, 2011, cash, cash equivalents, and short-term marketable securities were $44.6 billion.

Headcount – On a worldwide basis, Google employed 32,467 full-time employees as of December 31, 2011, up from 31,353 full-time employees as of September 30, 2011.

DingleBerry Brings Hulu Back To The BlackBery PlayBook

We've known even before the BlackBerry PlayBook first went on sale that it could support watching Hulu videos. Hulu was started as a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp (Fox) that allows US internet users to watch TV shows online. It's a great way to legally watch TV over the internet. The PlayBook's flash-running browser has no problem playing the videos; it's Hulu itself that blocks content to the tablet. Within 48 hours of the tablet's release, Hulu blocked PlayBook users from viewing that content.

DingleBerry 3.x changes that; Hulu is back on the PlayBook! Included with the latest release of the rooting tool is a new browser called HuluBerry. After following the extremely easy instructions for rooting the tablet, you'll find the HuluBerry application already installed on your device. This custom browser only browses the Hulu website. And Hulu looks great on the PlayBook.

Please note: As of late Wednesday night, it appears that the the 2.0.0.7111 developer's build of the PlayBook OS breaks HuluBerry functionality. To keep watching Hulu videos on your PlayBook, I would recommend staying on version 2.0.0.4869 or 2.0.0.6149 

Megaupload.com Shut Down

Federal prosecutors in Virginia have shut down notorious file-sharing site Megaupload.com and charged the service’s founders with violating piracy laws. The Associated Press broke the story on Thursday, reporting that the indictment accuses Megaupload.com’s owner with costing copyright holders including record labels and movie studios more than $500 million in lost revenue. Seven people tied to Megaupload.com have been charged and four are already in custody, including the site’s founder Kim Dotcom. Dotcom earned $42 million from the the site in 2010 according to the indictment. Megaupload.com allowed users to upload and share content without any measures in place to ensure files being hosted on the site’s servers were not protected by copyright. The company claims that it responded to copyright complaints as they were received. According to court documents made available on Thursday, Megaupload.com was at one point the 13th most trafficked website in the world.

Government Says LightSquared’s 4G LTE Network Will Always Interfere With GPS

In a memo released on Friday, the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee said the nine federal agencies that make up the body have concluded unanimously that none of LightSquared’s proposals would overcome the network’s interference with GPS technologies. The announcement comes as a crushing blow for the startup, which is looking to build an LTE network with the company’s 1600MHz frequency. Preliminary testing last year showed that LightSquared’s planned network interfered with GPS. After a handful of rebuttals, changes, and more testing, the government has decided to pull the plug and request no further testing. The Federal Aviation Administration also concluded the network would interfere with aircraft safety systems.”Based upon this testing and analysis, there appear to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit the LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS. As a result, no additional testing is warranted at this time,” the memo said. LightSquared slammed the decision, claiming the agency has a biased agenda that is in favor of the GPS industry. Late last year, LightSquared reiterated that the GPS industry is at fault and itdemanded approval from the FCC to begin deploying its network.