Research In Motion Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:RIMM): 2013 A Comeback Year

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Although Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung have had tremendous successes with their iPhone and Android phones, respectively, 2013 could be the year that Research In Motion Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) makes a big comeback.

Failing that could spell the end for this mobile giant, who used to be one of the most popular business phone makers.

Having spent a while biding their time before taking on the smartphone market, BlackBerry and Nokia are likely to fight tooth and nail for a share of the market in the coming year.

Research In Motion Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:RIMM): 2013 A Comeback Year

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), with its Lumia phone, made the move into smartphone territory with its Windows 8 Mobile platform – and has seen some reasonable success so far. The Lumia sold out in the US in the run up to Christmas. Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) will be launching its BlackBerry 10 platform towards the end of the month. Although neither company is likely to make significant inroads against their competitors, a success with these launches will lay the foundations for future releases.

Such a turnaround is widely anticipated, and Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) has seen its stock rise by 50 percent over the last two months. Despite some disappointing third quarter results, investor’s enthusiasm for RIM’s stock has been growing considerably, resultantly its trading around the $12 mark – a valuation Forbes considers fair, due to value coming from RIM’s “huge subscriber base and the unique value propositions it can make in push email and security.”

However, Forbes also noted that their estimation of the company’s value “completely hinges on the kind of success and market share gains that BB10 sees in the coming months.”

Last quarter, Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM) shipped just under 7 million BlackBerries – equivalent to a year-on-year drop of 50 percent. Despite steep declines in sales to the US, Canada, and the UK, international markets have been fairly robust. With an 80-million-strong subscriber base, RIM (TSE:RIM) has continued to generate cash through steady high-margin carrier fees, despite reporting net losses for three continuous quarters.

Although Android and Apple smartphones are strongly entrenched, Forbes suggests that BlackBerry may “claw its way” back into the market via its enterprise niche.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) (TSE:RIM)’s shares were up today, and sitting on the $11.59 mark at the time of writing.

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