Could Microsoft Corporation Acquire BlackBerry Ltd.?

By Benjamin Sinclair

In an article published last week, I listed a few companies that might be interested in buyingBlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB)(NASDAQ:BBRY). The list of potential suitors included Samsung,Google Inc., Apple Inc., and even Lenovo.

But there was one big name left off of that list: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Ironically, rumours surfaced later last week that Microsoft was considering such an acquisition. BlackBerry’s shares briefly spiked in response.

So, would Microsoft consider such a move? Below we take a look.

Why Microsoft would want to buy BlackBerry

Interestingly, Microsoft has had this opportunity before. Back in late 2013 BlackBerry was looking to sell itself, and Microsoft was considered one of the potential suitors. But the Seattle-based tech giant opted to buy Nokia instead, a move that cost US$7.2 billion.

At the time BlackBerry’s patent portfolio was considered the key prize, and that certainly remains the case.

But there are other aspects of BlackBerry that Microsoft should find attractive. BlackBerry’s leadership position in security would help Microsoft win over large enterprise customers. BlackBerry’s QNX operating system is very well positioned in the Internet of Things industry (remember, Ford replaced Microsoft with QNX for its in-vehicle infotainment systems). BBM would also be a nice asset to have.

Why Microsoft will stay put

While a BlackBerry acquisition would come with plenty of benefits, there are plenty of reasons why this simply won’t happen.

First of all, Microsoft’s Nokia acquisition hasn’t really paid dividends thus far, and is looking like a mistake. So, it would seem very strange for Microsoft to buy a company like BlackBerry so soon afterwards.

Secondly, Microsoft is already offering its own version of mobile device management (MDM), competing with BlackBerry on this front. In fact, Microsoft is offering some MDM services for free to customers with Office 365 commercial plans. So, Microsoft doesn’t really need BlackBerry at this point.

Finally, BlackBerry has already rejected a generous offer from Samsung, according to anonymous sources. Microsoft must know that any bid would probably go nowhere.

The verdict

In the near term, it’s unlikely any company will buy BlackBerry, mainly because the asking price is far too high. But if BlackBerry struggles to grow, then the company will face more pressure to sell itself, and numerous tech companies will still have their eyes on that patent portfolio. Samsung still seems like the most likely suitor, but Microsoft will surely be in the mix.

What Will Microsoft And Yahoo Do If The Google-Twitter Partnership Takes Off?

Louis Bedigian

Earlier this year, Google Inc 

GOOG

 and Twitter Inc 

TWTR

 inked a new deal that will bring Twitter data to the world's largest search engine.

Little is known about the agreement, but analysts have high hopes that this will prove to be meaningful partnership. If the deal is successful, it could widen the gap between Google and its search engine rivals, including Yahoo! Inc. 

YHOO

 and Bing from Microsoft Corporation 

MSFT

.

Twitter expert Sean Udall thinks this could be huge for the social network.

"I think an interesting thing could happen -- and this could be very good for Twitter -- in that Microsoft literally might be forced to do the same deal," Udall, CIO of Quantum Trading Strategies and author of The TechStrat Report, told Benzinga.

Bing and Twitter have a search deal that was formed in 2009, renewed once in 2011 and renewed again in 2013. It is not clear how the Google and Bing search deals differ, but the Google partnership is expected to be far more expansive.

Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told Benzinga that the Bing-Twitter deal appears to be "winding down."

Related Link: The Google-Twitter Deal Is A 'Win-Win' For Both Parties, Wedbush Analyst Says

'Recipe For Disaster'

Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry said that he does not expect Yahoo or Microsoft to follow Google's path and announce new Twitter partnerships.

"In the Internet space, if you do what other people are doing you are not going to be successful," Chowdhry told Benzinga. "You need to do things that other people are not doing."

Chowdhry said that Google has been unable to make a dent in social media, which is dominated by Facebook Inc 

FB

.

"Think about social networking," he said. "Has Google done any damage to Facebook? No! Think about search. Has Facebook caused any problems for Google? No! Zero! I don't think other companies need to do anything with Twitter that way. Other companies have to do something so dramatically different that [cannot be imitated]. Imitation and copycatting is a recipe for disaster."

Chowdhry is instead focusing on the value Microsoft brought to Yahoo, which led to Yahoo's relationship with Firefox.

"That is significant," he added. "If you look at Apple, Apple is working with DuckDuckGo -- very significant."

Apple Inc. 

AAPL

 quietly announced a deal with DuckDuckGo (buried inside of a press release for OS X Yosemite) in June 2014.

Twitter: A Better Buy Than Ever Before?

Udall noted that, in addition to Google, Twitter is working on a Spotlight deal with Apple. But he is most excited about the Google deal.

"If [Google's] search rankings start rising rapidly, what is it going to force Microsoft and Bing to do?" Udall questioned. "I think the odds of a Twitter buyout by Microsoft could increase exponentially if this Twitter-Google search deal shows serious legs, which I think it's going to."

30 Google Drive Tips You Can't Afford to Miss

BY ERIC GRIFFITH

Raise your hand if you remember Writely. A four-person company called Upstartle launched the online-only word processor in August 2005, taking advantage of a then-new browser technology called AJAX. It allowed users to instantly save and retrieve content generated in the browser but stored on the server. And it worked—so well that Google bought Upstartle less than a year later.

At the time, a product like Writely was unique (the software didn't come on a CD), but still considered a gamble. Pundit Om Malik said of the purchase, "Convincing the masses that their documents will be safe [online]...may be quite challenging, even if it's FREE!"

Fast forward eight years. Google's online office suite of tools has done nothing but grow. Now under the umbrella of Google Drive (formerly Google Docs), you'll find a file management and storage service as well as the various apps—which still get collectively called Google Docs, even by Google. The apps include: a word processor (sometimes simply called Docs—it's Writely, all grown up), spreadsheet (Sheets), presentations (Slides), drawing, and forms.

It's a full suite of tools that now takes on Microsoft's far more mature Office; in fact, Google Drive's very presence in the market arguable drove Microsoft to create its own Office Online versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to work with its OneDrive storage/sync service.

But after almost a decade, Google Drive has come a long way in its own maturity. Anyone with a Google account—the kind you have for Gmail or any other Google service—gets instant instant access to the tools. Businesses, schools, and non-profits have the option of using Google Apps, a version of Google Drive with all the storage and tools, plus integration of Gmail, Calendar, Sites, and more under their own domain name.

Drive—one of our Editors' Choice suites—is a serious set of tools for serious (or fun) work, all entirely free. But it pays to know more than just the basics. That's why we've put together these 30 tips for you on how to get the most out of Google Drive. Share your own advice for fellow Drive-rs in the comments below.

6 Reasons Apple Inc. Should Never Build A TV

By Salvador Rodriguez












Apple reportedly did research for a TV set product for nearly a decade, but the company finally shelved those plans last year, according to a new report

Rumors that Apple would jump into the TV market have been swirling for almost a decade, but plans for an Apple TV set were nixed more than a year ago, according to a report this week. While that may sadden a few Apple fanfolks, it's a great call for Apple, which can now move on to other things like carsand search engines, to name a few. Here are five reasons Apple should drop any TV plans and slowly step away:

No Killer Feature

TV is a crowded space, with no one owning more than 22 percent of the market, so for Apple to break in, the company would’ve likely needed a killer feature or some unique way to differentiate itself from the Samsungs, LGs and Sonys of the world. Apple played around with a few unique technologies, including a FaceTime camera capable of detecting and turning to whomever is speaking in a room, but ultimately, the company decided that none of the features it tried out were compelling enough to justify an entrance into the competitive TV market, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Apple’s brand is pretty powerful, but that wouldn’t be enough to carry the company to success in the TV market. Without a killer feature, Apple would’ve been just another fish in the sea of TV makers.  

It's Not About The TV, Anyway

To understand Apple and Silicon Valley, you have to understand their favorite and most overused quote, from pro-hockey great Wayne Gretzky: “Skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

The TV set has traditionally been the center of home entertainment, but with the rise of smartphones, tablets and services like Netflix and Hulu Plus that can be watched on laptops, a TV set is no longer essential. Among millennials, for example, 60 percent already watch TV programming on their smartphones every month, according to comScore.

Apple wants to ride the wave of the next great consumer products, like wearables with the Apple Watch or perhaps virtual reality, not catch the tail end of television sales.

The Box Doesn't Matter, But The Service Inside Does

Apple is about to disrupt the TV universe with its own pay-TV service, which will probably be unveiled at WWDC next month. This service will do more to upend home entertainment than any dumb box could. Apple has been negotiating for rights with network TV providers for years, rights that will allow viewers to search for shows past and present; an attempt at reinventing pay-TV and add some real competition for Comcast, DirecTV, Verizon and others.

The TV itself is a commodity. The service inside won't be if Apple can get it right and get the most important content providers onboard.

Apple TV Is Key

Apple may have scrapped plans for a TV set, but the company has been selling Apple TV streaming devices since early 2007, before the iPhone even existed. Apple has sold millions of units of the little hockey puck-like device (they love that hockey saying, I’m telling you), which is used for accessing online content on the likes of Netflix, YouTube and HBO Now.

An over-the-top gizmo may not be as exciting as an Apple-branded TV set, but Apple is right in understanding that this is the future of TV. This is why Apple is expected to announce a new, redesigned and much improved Apple TV box next month at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

TV Replacement Cycles Are Long

Be honest: Your 7-year-old HD TV set works just fine, right? One of Apple’s biggest struggles currently is that it can’t get people to buy new iPads. Tablet replacement cycles are longer than smartphones’, and that’s why Apple is seeing its sales of iPads fall every quarter. TV-set sales would be even worse.

According to NPD DisplaySearch, the TV replacement cycle is approximately eight years. That's a waste of time for Apple, which sees its best product -- the iPhone -- get replaced by users every two years, give or take. Selling an Apple TV set would give the company a boost for maybe one or two years, but after that, sales would likely fall off as they have with the iPad.

Small Margins

Apple’s known for pulling tremendous margins out of every product it sells. Last quarter, the company posted tremendous gross profit margins of 39.5 percent, and the new Apple Watch is expected to follow suit.

That’s not the case in the TV market. Televisions use expensive technology yet every year, manufacturers lower prices in an effort to spur sales. It’s a race to the bottom that cuts margins, and it’s not the type of race Apple likes running. 

Buhari must eschew religious, ethnic sentiments to succeed

By YETUNDE AYOBAMI OJO

Remarks on 2015 election

That the elections were conducted peacefully and successfully is the making of God because the polity was already heated and there was fear that violence could trail the exercise. But we thank God on the way it turned out to be.

 

One cannot but mention the fatherly roles played by the out-going President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and other statesmen like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Abdusalami Abubakar, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

 

Their efforts and commitment to the stability of the country is what we are enjoying otherwise we would be saying a different thing in Nigeria today.

 

The election taught us to be flexible because nothing is gold-casted. Today, I have learnt that Nigerians have a voice. The election has shown that whoever misbehaves in office would be kicked out through the ballot box.

   

Circumstances that led to the change

We should look at ourselves as Nigerians and not from religious or ethnic perspectives. Religion and ethnicity are the cause of most of the problems we have today. The second problem was lack of discipline that led to corruption. That was why Nigerians got up and said President Jonathan has done his best and that it was time to move and try somebody else.

 

It is an open fact that once the welfare of the Nigerian majority is not guaranteed, there will be problem. If they are deprived of their social welfare then it is high time to kick out whoever is in power. Nigerians are now so politically sophisticated that despite the inducement they voted according to their conscience.

 

Slow judicial process in the country

Slow judicial process is not peculiar to Nigeria alone; cases are like that all over the world. But there are cases that should be fast-tracked. And that is up to the President and the judicial team to have a way of not having some cases staying for too long before adjudication. There should be duration for cases.

From the antecedents of the Vice President-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a seasoned administrator, he surely knows what to be done in the administration of justice.

 

Challenges Buhari may likely face 

First and foremost, the incoming President will need all Nigerians’ support to succeed. It is God and not Buhari that can solve the problems plaguing the country. Therefore, we should all come together the way we did during the elections to assist him in the onerous task of nation building.

   

We should not expect miracle overnight. People should not make Buhari’s work more difficult by expecting instant miracle from him.

 

I believe that discipline must be maintained because lack of it breeds corruption. And corruption has eaten deep into our fabric and we just have to fight it together as one.

 

Secondly, we have to look into the challenges of power sector because without constant supply of electricity, nothing can work. So much money has been spent on electricity, yet nothing positive has happened. How can we manufacture without power? That is why manufacturing is more expensive here than anywhere in the world.

 

There are no infrastructures on ground. No good roads and our ports are alarmingly porous. So, at what point can we begin to say we want to produce anything that the masses would gain from.

   

Expectations from the new administration

We are yet to see what the incoming government has in stock for us and how the people, especially the opposition would accept it. That is why I said we should organize and harmonize ourselves to assist the incoming administration to be effective.

 

And as I said earlier, it is about discipline. With discipline, you will realize that Nigerians are easy people to lead. For me, it is a collective responsibility and people should give God-fearing advice.

   

Buhari’s cabinet

The fact is that the presidential system is expensive but the coming cabinet should be trimmed to save cost. Only capable hands should be appointed to make things work. We need competent hands on board to carry it out, not the people that would see the incoming administration as business as usual.

   

Fuel crisis

To me the lingering fuel crisis does not make sense. It is as a result of selfish interest. Why should we be producing oil, taking the same oil outside to be refined, and bringing it back to the country and we then paying subsidy on it? It doesn’t add up. Nigeria should look elsewhere beyond oil. Our country is blessed with a lot of resources. But what do we do about that? Everybody just concentrates on oil.

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Weak erection is also a menace! The population of unsatisfied wives is also on the increase. High blood pressure management drugs weaken erectile functions. The population of those who have these challenges are more than people own up for.

Or is it typhoid? Malaria? High Blood pressure? Fibroid? Menstrual anomalies or sexually transmitted infections?

The market space for solving any of these problems is in the millions.

Money follows value! The more problems you can help people solve, the wealthier you can become. A2W is bringing you a life transforming product with quick effects. This is surely an opportunity to help people around you, live healthy lives, and also empower you to earn phenomenal income while attending to that.

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