RIM has slew of next-gen 'superphones' to launch, but stock price still dips on news
Research In Motion co-CEO Balsillie said at the company's annual general meeting yesterday that they have an entire roster of next-gen smartphones on the horizon. But with a 2012 launch a reputation for delays, shareholders were unimpressed. On a day that sees most of the market surging (competitor Apple has jumped nearly 6 percent), RIM's share is in the red, still below $30 from its $140 high just a couple of years ago.
RIM is calling its next-gen BlackBerrys "superphones," but skeptics are saying they can barely make capable smartphones—so the leap in technology will have to be astounding, in terms of both hardware and software. It is known that they will be using a QNX-based OS, as utilized in the PlayBook tablet.
The Waterloo technology giant says it has 67 million worldwide BlackBerry subscribers and 45 million BBM users. Its new Bold Touch should launch by summer's end, with the new Torch and Curve coming as well. The other handsets remain a mystery, but most are likely upgrades of existing models, such as the Style, Pearl, or Storm. (But hopefully not.)
