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RIM co-CEOs step down

Thorsten Heins takes over as CEO and president at RIM

RIM has appointed a new CEO after increasing shareholder pressure and a poor financial performance in 2011. Thorsten Heins will take over as president and CEO, with former co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie stepping down. Lazaridis will become vice chair of RIM’s board and chair of the board’s new Innovation Committee and Balsillie will remain a member of the Board.

To complete its vision, RIM should go private

2,000 RIM staff will lose their jobs as part of the cost-cutting move

For the last few months, North American business news channels have been buzzing with rumors declaring that an acquisition of Research In Motion is just around the corner. The list of potential suitors allegedly includes such technology heavyweights as Microsoft, Nokia and Samsung, though none of these options offers the prospect of an easy post-acquisition reorganization or integration of product/service portfolios.

RIM pushes BlackBerry software updates

The PlayBook gets some much needed updates

Using Las Vegas gadget-fest CES as a platform to rally some support, Canadian manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) is showing off the latest versions of its flagship operating systems for both smartphone and tablet devices.

RIM could oust Lazaridis and Balsillie from shared roles

Current RIM co-CEOs and chairmen Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie

RIM could soon split the roles of CEO and chairman in a bid to reverse its fortunes. Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie are currently co-CEOs and co-chairmen at the embattled Canadian handset manufacturer, but that could change following an internal review of its board structure.

RIM reports plunge in income and delays to products

RIM is carrying its troubles on into 2012

Beleaguered Blackberry maker RIM reported more bad news as the firm saw its net income plunge by almost three-quarters to just $265m in the third quarter of 2011. The figure is a 71 per cent drop from the $911m it recorded in 3Q10, and was impacted in large part by a $485m pre-tax charge related to unsold PlayBook tablets.

RIM having trouble shifting tablets

The Playbook is not moving as fast as expected

Canadian device vendor Research In Motion (RIM) has warned shareholders that it has a large inventory of Playbook tablets sitting in its channels at the moment, amounting to a provision for this quarter of around $360m.

Buyer’s Market

peter-becker

As the global director for terminals marketing at the Vodafone Group, Peter Becker-Pennrich holds decision making powers over a procurement strategy that deals in serious volumes. Vodafone buys between 60 and 70 million handsets each year, spending $8bn across it’s footprint, including affiliates and partner markets. In this exclusive interview Becker-Pennrich offers frank assessments of the different strategies adopted by the vendor community, their chances for success and the nature of the relationship – ever evolving – between operators, vendors and platform developers.

RIM rolls out BBM Music

RIM is rolling out its BBM Music service into the UK

Canadian handset vendor RIM has announced that it is rolling out its BBM Music service on a commercial basis following a successful beta trial.

RIM adds NewBay to acquisition portfolio

RIM has added New Bay to its acquisitions in 2011

Canadian devices firm RIM has announced its acquisition of digital content services provider NewBay, the BlackBerry maker’s fifth acquisition of 2011.

RIM delays PlayBook OS 2.0 until February 2012

The next update to the PlayBook's operating system has been delayed until February 2012

Research in Motion (RIM) has announced that it will delay the next version of its PlayBook operating system until February next year. The BlackBerry maker said it will not launch the PlayBook OS 2.0 until it is confident it has fully met the expectations of its developers, enterprise customers and end-users.