Research in Motion RIM-T investors want to know one thing above all when the BlackBerry maker reports quarterly results this week: when will RIM's long-promised iPhone killer finally hit the market?
Robust earnings growth and solid sales of more than 11 million devices are unlikely to impress them much. Both are expected, along with further declines in average selling prices, as overseas sales of lower-end devices grow.
RIM's share of the more lucrative North American market, meanwhile, is expected to have eroded further as the iPhone and a slew of smart phones that use Google's GOOG-Q Android operating system eat into the BlackBerry's market share.
That's where the new BlackBerry 9800 comes in. The touchscreen device is said to have a full slide-out keyboard, along with a new operating system and revamped Web browser.
Analysts say the new device, expected to be dubbed the BlackBerry Torch, could revive RIM's sagging fortunes in North America and help it regain some of its faded glory.
“The expectations are that they're going to want to get a new product out into the marketplace in time for September, because that is when you get the back-to-school and big consumer push,” said Mackie Research Capital analyst Nick Agostino.
More details about a launch timetable could not come at a better time for RIM shareholders. Motorola is expected to unveil its Droid X phone on Wednesday, while Apple's AAPL-Q iPhone 4 -- which has already posted record pre-orders -- hits shelves later this week.
While Apple's shares have surged more than 90 percent over the last 12 months, RIM's stock has fallen almost 30 percent over the same period, as the once-iconic BlackBerry has ceded market share to its snazzier rivals in North America.
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