Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY): The Signs I’m Looking For Before Buying

Through the acquisition of QNX Software Systems in April 2010, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) not only gained the operating system that would eventually become BB10, BlackBerry also gained entre to the automotive infotainment market. The QNX operating system was already in use in over 200 different makes of automobiles for GPS navigation and infotainment.

At the Live event, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) took the opportunity to show off some fairly advanced in-car touch screen capabilities, running BB10.  Video chat using a large tablet-like center console touch screen was demoed, somewhat reminiscent of the touch screen in the Tesla Model S. BlackBerry’s presence in automotive provides a somewhat reassuring backfill to their smart phone business, but I got the impression that the demo hadn’t really been very well thought out.  Okay, so you can video chat from your car.  To be really compelling, there needs to be integration with the rest of the BlackBerry ecosystem of services, so that the BlackBerry user transitions seamlessly once inside the vehicle.  Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) in the car still seems a work in progress.

Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is due to report their fiscal Q1 results on June 28, and I have a sneaking suspicion the company will turn a small operating profit, based on the Gartner data.  BlackBerry has managed to fight Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) to a draw, despite Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s marketing muscle and (to my eye) more attractive and modern mobile operating system.

The use of QNX as the basis of BB10 was a very good strategic decision, akin to scrapping the internal Mac OS development for NeXT.  Attracting developers to the platform will be critical for its success.  App availability is still quite sparse, and while developing BB Messenger for iOS and Android is a smart tactical move, Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) needs to devote most of its software resources to BB10 app development.

At the earnings call, I’ll be looking for critical decisions on investments by Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) that promote growth of their ecosystem, and signs that the user population decline has finally been arrested.

Like most investors, I’m still very cautious about Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), but if they report progress on the above areas, I may become a BlackBerry bull.

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