BlackBerry Storms Onto Touch-Screen Market

Maker RIM will instead focus on business customers

(AP) - Struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion said today it will cede most consumer markets after failing to compete with flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple's iPhone and models that run Google's Android software. Instead, RIM said it will return to its roots and focus on business customers, many of whom prefer BlackBerrys for their security. RIM has had limited success trying to enter consumer markets in recent years, and RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said a turnaround required "substantial change." More»

Changes follow 12% drop in revenue

(NEWSER) - Research In Motion, the company that makes BlackBerry phones and tablets, is deleting about 2,000 names from its employee email list. The company announced it will cut the jobs—about 11% of its workforce—and reorganize its executives in order to better compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Droid, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

RIM dominates in sales, but the iPhone has big advantages

(NEWSER) - The iPhone has become a cultural phenomenon, but RIM sells way more units than Apple does. Why, then, does the BlackBerry have such obvious flaws? Wired lists five improvements RIM needs to make:

1. Browser. The web looks much the same on an iPhone or Palm Pre as it does on a PC. But the BlackBerry presents a bare-bones mobile version of most websites—and is slow, to boot.
2. Touchscreen. The BlackBerry Storm's "clickable" screen was supposed to feel like a real keypad, but it just made typing slower.

(NEWSER) - For BlackBerry users, the lure of the iPhone can be hard to resist, despite the Apple device's lack of a keyboard and AT&T-only service policy. The Wall Street Journal followed five BlackBerry users who switched to the iPhone and charted the highs and lows: All of them said they adjusted quickly to typing on the screen, though some said they were typing slower. Several complained about the iPhone's inferior battery life, and others wished they still had BlackBerry's IM service. More»

BlackBerry zooms past iPhone with giveaways

(NEWSER) - The Blackberry Curve has overtaken the iPhone to become America's best-selling smartphone, Ars Technica reports. First-quarter figures from research firm NPD reveal that the iPhone fell into second place for the first time since the iPhone 3G was launched last summer, according to first-quarter figures from research firm NRD. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion's phones also took the third and fourth spot, and T-mobile's G came in fifth. More»