QUOTED: Billionaire Prem Watsa on why the media—and everyone else—shouldn’t write off RIM

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All of you are using BlackBerrys and you don’t think the company’s going to survive.

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—Billionaire investor and Research in Motion shareholder Prem Watsa, chastising a group of BlackBerry-toting journalists for the media’s RIM-bashing slant—after he asked them, one by one, what kind of smartphone they use. Watsa believes that, despite a flood of doomsday stories, RIM can mend its business and boost its share price within three to five years thanks to its healthy cash balance and lack of debt. However, because the smartphone market moves so quickly, some analysts say RIM needs to take drastic action within the year—let’s hope that the recent moves toward dramatic restructuring are the beginning of the turnaround that Watsa is predicting. [Toronto Star]