How Many BlackBerry 10s Must RIM Sell?

How Many BlackBerry 10s Must RIM Sell?

~ By  Sarah Reedy

 

4:00 AM -- Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; Toronto: RIM) has made no secret of the fact that it's betting the farm on BlackBerry 10, its operating system overhaul that will debut on mobile devices next year.

That's a huge gamble for the Canadian company as it tries to dig out of an enormous hole. The company reported a first-quarter operating loss of $518 million and said it plans to cut 5,000 more jobs before the end of the year. And, in the interim to its delayed BB10 launch, it only has its poorly received BB7 line to fill the gap. (See RIM CEO Denies BlackBerry Death Spiral, RIM Posts $518M Q1 Loss, More Job Cuts at RIM and RIM to Sell the BlackBerry Farm?)

CEO Thorston Heins said RIM will launch a multi-touch device first, followed by a keyboard option. However, the question for the handset maker is not what kind of devices it needs, but how many it has to sell to stay in the smartphone picture.

Analysts aren't optimistic.

"Honestly, I am just hoping that the company will survive to make it to the BB10 launch," saysPyramid Research analyst Emily Smith.

Given its cash position -- RIM has $2 billion in the bank -- independent Canadian analyst Carmi Levy is more optimistic for his hometown company, but he says it's going to be a bleak couple of quarters, both for the company and its investors.

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