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Research in Motion outage this week could be just another nail in their coffin, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Indeed with the release of a newer iPhone – the iPhone 4S, RIM is going to face more competition. Many companies are now allowing their workers to use their own phone and I sense that many other companies will start doing the same. Why not? It is after all a saving for these companies if they don’t have to pay for communication devices. Productivity should also increase if you are using technology that you can master.

With this newer iPhone, Apple is getting one step closer to what RIM is offering. Indeed Apple now offer a mail service that is similar to what the maker of the Blackberry is offering. Preordering of the newer iPhone is doing very well. Apple announced that on the first day they received over a million orders for the new iPhone. This even after this newer iPhone has bee largely criticized. The fact that Steve Jobs died the day after the release of the new phone didn’t affect at all sales. I would even say that it might have helped. The death of Steve just brought more attention to Apple – the company maker of all these marvelous gadgets. It showed to the world that Apple is a company that will continue to thrive even if Jobs is gone.

Apple has now over 75 billion $ in its coffers. RIM on the other hand is loosing money. They have great technology but can’t seem to manage. Apple on the other hand has no problem managing but will need to continue improving to compete with Android. Maybe it would be time for a marriage of RIM and Apple. RIM would probably loose a lot in this union but at least they would survive. Not so long ago we’ve seen such union of reason between Nokia and Microsoft. If Apple and Research in Motion would unite their forces, they would be in better position to affront Android.

One thing for sure there is not enough room for all these players into this market.

I wish I had bought some Apple (AAPL-Q) when they were in the toilet. Shares that were trading for around $28 just a few year ago are now trading over $370 and they are expected to go as high as $450. Why is that?

First Apple is a good company that makes products consumers want. Second they are going after the Chinese market. The biggest market in the world with over 600 million people using cell phones. Finally there is a rumor that Apple will release a consumer iPhone that would sell for a fraction of the price of their new iPhone 5. This way Apple would have a phone for everyone, just like they have a computer or a tablet for everyone.

Apple is doing fine even without Steve. This is a good sign! It means that the company has finally matured and its image is no longer attached to its CEO. Apple will continue to strive even when Steve retires entirely.

Research in Motion is coming with a new generation of high-powered mobile devices. At least this is what they are announcing. I don’t know about you, but me I wouldn’t bet a penny on this company. I had a friend who asked me about RIM a while ago, his wife had just sold out her Visa and she wanted to invest in RIM. My answer “Stay away from it”.

RIM reminds me a bit of Nortel, great Canadian company with great products, but that might be just what the problem is. Rim is Canadian and it looks like it is getting a hard time competing with other companies (mostly American ones). Take their tablet for example. I was in a store the other day, and I look at one of them. Couldn’t get it to work! Battery was drained or tablet simply didn’t work. Apple had the same problem a few years ago. When I was visiting stores that would still carry their products (not many did in these years) it was hard to find computers that would be working.  Today when I go to a store and try Apple products, they all work. Why so you think? Probably because this is what the store is selling and they want to make sure they won’t miss a sale because a customer could not get the thing to work. Salespersons are making sure that Apple products are fully recharged or that they are on power supply. Also the employees are very knowledgeable because that is probably what they are using themselves.

I don’t wish RIM’s death, but they have to come with better products if they want to survive. Hope this new generation of mobile device will be their iMac.

Today with no news Apple (AAPL - Nasdaq) went up another $ 2.33. For a company that had so many problems just a few years ago, this is quite an accomplishment. This is not by luck that Apple is doing so well. They are making great products! There are a lot of companies that are trying to copy the products that they are making, but Apple is always two steps ahead of the competition. This stock will soon hit $400 and maybe will even go higher!...

Don't take me wrong. I love Apple! Yes the maker of one of the best computer in the world. But there are times when I find that their products are too far ahead. Take their laptops for example. Over the years, I had several laptops and found that there was always something missing. Amongst the latest laptop I had was my PowerBook G4. This was probably one of the best computer I ever had (I still have it and use it for workshops). When I bought that computer, I thought "this is it, no more need for adapter to connect to a projector or an external screen" - You know what I am talking about, these little Gizmos that you keep loosing and that you use to connect to VGA, DVI, HDMI, etc. Wrong again! Yes it had the DVI port, but none of the monitors or the projectors that I was using at the time had DVI ports, so I had to buy  adaptors that I had to replace a few times as I kept loosing them. After a few years I was starting to be able to connect directly with a DVI cable to monitors and projectors. Finally no need for adaptors. Wrong again, by that time my laptop was getting old and the hard drive too small. Time to upgrade! So I bought a MacBook Pro. Nice machine but again I needed adaptors to plug to monitors and projectors. Finally I decided to buy my own projector which accepts all type of connection VGA, HDMI, USB, etc. Now I can finally use one cable and no adaptor. I can even plug directly into my new TV (but not in my old). Still, I don't like this computer as much as I liked my G4. For example it doesn't have a firewire 400 port and I have a few HD enclosures using that type of connection. So guess what I need to carry around…..  a Firewire 800 to 400 adaptor. I also don't like that the USB ports are so close and on the same side. If I want to connect a USB key that is a little bit fat at the same time as another USB device it won't fit so guess what I need…. a USB adaptor. By now, you are starting to get the picture. Apple's products are wonderful, but they are not perfect. My best laptop, the one that is going to be easy to upgrade and that will also have a lot of ways to connect to peripheral, is not there yet! Meanwhile, I have to cary with me - you guessed it - a bunch of adaptors.

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