There are many vanquished firms like Research In Motion (RIMM), Dell (DELL), Nokia (NOK) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) that have been disrupted by Apple’s (AAPL) foray into mobile devices. Apple calls the shots, and its competitors are currently forced to play by its rules. Has Apple completely crushed its competition? Are these competitors worth investing in? Let’s find out.

Struggling Competition

Research In Motion has decided to sell its nine-passenger midrange company plane as part of a plan to eliminate $1 billion from business costs. The company hopes to sell the plane for six or seven million dollars. This sale is part of an effort to cut down the operating budget as BlackBerries become less popular and lose sales. Last year, sales in the US dropped by 47%, causing Research In Motion to put more of an emphasis on generating sales in other markets, including Indonesia and South Africa. The company is also letting go of a third of its employees, and closing down several production sites.

Firms in the PC industry are also scrambling to redefine themselves as PC sales stagnate. Dell’s interest in Quest Software (QSFT) demonstrates that the firm is looking to bolster its database and server businesses. The most recent offer for Quest was $27.50 per share, and is conjectured to come from Dell by industry analysts.

Hewlett-Packard has also been under alot of pressure, and turnarounds like this are herculean efforts. Meg Whitman compared her mission as Hewlett-Packard’s CEO to Larry Schultz’s revitalization of Starbucks, which began in 2008 when he re-assumed control as CEO. To continue reading, click here.