标签: RIM

Anybody familiar with Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM)? That's the Canadian firm that makes Blackberries—those handsets that used to be cool because you could use them to send email, but now seem about as archaic as the Palm Pilot. RIM has been steadily losing relevance and market share over the past few years as iPhone mania and the rise of the Android operating system have taken hold of the smartphone market. But RIM is not dead yet. According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, RIM's pending introduction of the Blackberry 10 handset represents RIM's final charge in its struggle to become a viable third smartphone brand behind market leaders Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. IHS said it could also be the final chance for the Blackberry operating system to become a viable No. 3 behind Apple's iOS and Google Inc.'s Android. "This year we will see multiple attempts to fight the Samsung/Apple smartphone duopoly in smartphone hardware—along with the twin Google/Apple duopoly in smartphone operating systems," said Ian Fogg, senior principal analyst at IHS, in a statement. "Because of the fast-rising adoption of smartphones, 2013 represents the last, best hope for RIM's BlackBerry 10—along with endangered specimens like Microsoft's Windows Phone, Nokia's Lumia and Mozilla's Firefox—to create a viable third smartphone competitor in the market." Together, Samsung and Apple accounted for close to 50 percent of global smartphone shipments in 2012, according to IHS. Android and iOS collectively held about 90 percent of the smartphone operating system market, IHS said. At the same time, IHS said, smartphones accounted for nearly 50 percent of all mobile handset shipments last year. By 2016, the firm expects that smartphones will account for nearly 75 percent of all smartphones shipped. "With smartphones soon to reach their maximum penetration, time is running out for RIM and other Apple/Samsung/Google competitors to stake a claim in the smartphone business," said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS. Under gun RIM is clearly under the gun. But IHS said recent events have opened a window of opportunity for RIM as well as for other potential smartphone competitors. For example, IHS said, the struggle for traction by Windows Phone is opening opportunities for another player to establish itself. Nokia shipped just 4.4 million Lumia Windows Phones in the fourth quarter and posted poor ASP figures for its Lumia line, IHS said. With the revocation of the payments previously provided by Microsoft, the outlook for Nokia is tougher than ever. Apple shiped 48 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of 2012. More importantly, according to IHS, Apple has kept the iPhone average selling price (ASP) steady, suggesting that much rumored supply chain issues for the iPhone 5 did not adversely affect its sales. But IHS points out that Apple has had a few stumbles of late, including the Maps app fiasco. This has created a willingness among Apple friendly consumers to try other products, opening the door for a new competitor to enter the market. "With the smartphone market maturing and changing, smartphone challengers must adopt differentiated strategies, rather than simply mimic what Apple, Google and Samsung did in the past," Fogg said. RIM hopes the BlackBerry 10 will offer differentiation in the areas of user interface with one designed to juggle apps, by helping consumers and businesses have content coexisting on the same device, according to IHS. RIM also has created a new smartphone OS focused on delivering a communications experience meaningful to the user and is pursuing a content-based strategy offering songs, television and movies. At this point, a return to relevance by RIM is hard to imagine. Any firm looking to shake up the status quo in the smartphone market and break the chokehold of Apple, Samsung and Google faces long odds. But stranger things have happened—Apple itself reversed a long downward spiral with the introduction of the iPod in 2001. And the rest is history.  

虽然RIM最近少有新的产品推出，但是远在滑铁卢的RIM工程师们并没有停下手中的工作。最近在美国专利局又通过了一项RIM申请的专利，内容就是燃料电池。该技术试图将燃料电池引入移动设备，来帮助设备在续航方面有所改善和突破。     电池放置的位置位于键盘与主板之间。专利说明原文如下： A mobile device having: a keyboard; a printed circuit board having at least one contact responsive to the keyboard; and a fuel cell assembly having: a fuel cell located between the keyboard and the printed circuit board, the fuel cell having a membrane and at least one aperture corresponding with the at least one contact; a tank adapted to store a fuel for the fuel cell; and piping connecting the tank with the fuel cell, where the fuel cell ventilates through the keyboard. Alternatively, the fuel cell acts as the printed circuit board and at least one contact for the keyboard is printed onto the fuel cell.   据了解， 燃料电池和锂离子（聚合物）电池的区别是，前者将化学能转为电能，需要补充反应物。   燃料电池(FuelCell)是一种将存在于燃料与氧化剂中的化学能直接转化为电能的发电装置。燃料和空气分别送进燃料电池，电就被奇妙地生产出来。它从外表上看有正负极和电解质等，像一个蓄电池，但实质上它不能“储电”而是一个“发电厂”。简单地说就是利用化学反应电荷转移发电。这样应该就能解决容量问题，但问题是反应物的填充，就像需要加油站作支持一样，好处就是，用完补充就可以了。不用等待充电。   资料收集整理：Ana Hu