Blackberry Maker Dials in on Growth

[BESadmin]

Blackberry Maker Dials in on Growth
18th July 2008
Canadian News

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. is charging ahead with international expansion plans and investments in new handsets and software to stay competitive, its co-chief executive said.

RIM wants to expand BlackBerry service, now available in over 140 countries, including Russia, Latin America, China and Southeast Asia.
"We're not short of opportunity," Jim Balsillie told shareholders at RIM's annual meeting on Tuesday. "We're in a prime, prime position that I think we've navigated ourselves to and earned."

After 12 years of rampant expansion, some analysts and investors have grown concerned that RIM will not be able to sustain it, particularly as the U.S. economic picture darkens.

Those fears were highlighted last month, when RIM posted a profit outlook that fell short of analyst expectations.

RIM also seen more competition from Apple Inc.'s iPhone, but has repeatedly dismissed the iPhone as a threat.

RIM has peppered its smartphones, already popular with executives, with video cameras and music players to lure more retail customers, and now about 40 per cent of its 16 million users are either small and medium businesses or consumers.