Rolling Back the RIM: Inside Research in Motion

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Photo from December, 1984 at a mall in Waterloo, ON. From left; Mike Lazaridis, Chris Shaw and Doug Fregin. In its original incarnation RIM worked on many projects including an electronic toothbrush, and Budgie a video display terminal that eventually led to a $600,000 LED sign contract with GM

In 1992, RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis hired a 31 year old Harvard MBA named Jim Balsillie as VP of business development. Balsillie invested $125,000 of his own money and obtained a 33% interest in the fledgling company. Today, RIM has sold over 75 million smartphones. Released just weeks ago, Rod McQueen’s “Blackberry: The Inside Story of Research in Motion”, which recounts stories like this, is already a bestseller. We sat down with Rod to talk about the colorful history of Research in Motion. Oh, and that $125,000 that Jim Balsillie invested? We don’t want to spoil the end of the book for you or anything, but it worked out alright…

Filed Under: Interviews, RIM, Tech Triangle Tagged With:

Quant Snapshot: Enablence Technologies (TSXV:ENA)

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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After drifting for most of 2009, shares of Ottawa based Enablence Technologies (TSXV:ENA) have taken off of late. The stock has moved from a low of $.225 on November 26 of 2009 to a high of .75 on April 16th.The Company, which manufactures fiber to home telecom equipment, has grown rapidly through acquisition. We break [...]

Filed Under: IT, Wireless Tagged With:

Quant Snapshot: GuestLogix (TSX:GXI)

April 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Toronto based GuestLogix, which recently moved to a full TSX listing from the Venture exchange, is a provider of onboard retail technology. The Company helps carriers build, manage and control onboard stores. On the strength of an ever-improving balance sheet, the stock has nearly doubled in 2010. We break down the numbers.

Filed Under: Hardware, Software Tagged With:

A look at balance sheet of Arise Technologies (TSX:APV)

April 15, 2010 By 9 Comments
AriseTSX

2009 was a tough year for Waterloo based Arise Technologies, but things may be headed back in the right direction for the once high flying solar company. Even though Arise reported lower revenue for the year (Sales totalled $31.7 million versus $35.7 million in 2008.) the company managed to trim its losses. The losses a still very heavy ($41.3 million or 32 cents a share from $42.3 million or 36 cents a share in 2008). With the 2009 numbers now on the table, we break down Arise Technologies in our “Quant Snapshot”.

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A look at the balance sheet of Craig Wireless (TSX:CWG)

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Shares of Craig Wireless (TSX:CWG) took off this week after awarded a broadband radio service license for the Vancouver region, a key condition of its wireless spectrum sale to a partnership owned by Rogers Communications and Bell Canada. We break down the numbers of Craig, which also posted its Q2 this week. 1. Price to [...]

Filed Under: Wireless Tagged With: