What does research in motion do

RIM's pocket-sized smart pages would let users exchange pages, e-mail, and Internet messages via either network. An innovative two-way messaging device, the Inter ctive pager featured a QWERTY keyboard and a small, text-only display screen that showed four lines of text.

It was developed jointly with Intel Corporation and included a bit operating system along with built-in contact manager, scheduler, and forms-based messaging applications. With service provided by Ardis Co.

The handheld device could also store KB of data and had a variety of pre-programmed response messages, such as "I'll be late. Released commercially in , the Inter ctive pager quickly became RIM's best-known product. By early the company had signed a contract to supply IBM with Inter ctive pagers for use by its field service representatives across North America.

Other customers included Panasonic Corp. RIM completed its initial public offering during fiscal The company's stock was traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company was in good financial shape. It planned to use about half of its cash on new equipment, sales and marketing, research and development, and as working capital. The company planned to use 10 to 15 percent of its sales revenue toward research and development.

Near the end of RIM introduced an upgraded version of its Inter ctive pager. The model was smaller, cheaper, and had a longer battery life than its predecessor, the model. The could send and receive e-mail, pages, and peer-to-peer messages as well as send faxes and text-to-voice messages. At the PCS '98 trade show in Orlando, RIM and Bell South Wireless Data announced they were working together with Sybase to develop a mobile enterprise solution that extended critical business applications to a two-way pager.

The solution enabled corporate users to download and upload data on demand from their pagers. Sensing that the time was right for corporate e-mail appliances, RIM introduced the BlackBerry mobile e-mail solution in February A unique aspect of the BlackBerry was that it featured a push system for e-mail delivery, whereby e-mail messages were relayed from the user's personal computer or corporate server to the BlackBerry without having to dial in.

The BlackBerry was an always on, always connected product that never had to be turned off. Around this time RIM introduced the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, an optional add-on server that allowed e-mail to be redirected from the server rather than the desktop. The BlackBerry had to be left on at all times, as did the user's personal computer or corporate server, while the Palm had an antenna that had to be raised to work.

Both products included an address book, calendar, task list, and alarm clock features. GoAmerica Communications Corp. Internationally, Venezuela-based Telcel Cellular became the first Mobitex operator in Latin America to offer a messaging solution using RIM's Inter ctive e pager, which was the Spanish-language version of the Inter ctive RIM also faced a few challenges in In August competitor Glenayre Technologies Inc.

Glenayre claimed that RIM's Inter ctive pager line used this patented process. As a result RIM had to report lower-than-expected quarterly earnings. RIM's Inter ctive pagers were contributing about 70 percent of the company's revenue, and BellSouth was the largest customer for those devices. However, new customers were being signed up, including American Mobile Satellite Corp. In addition, RIM signed a distribution agreement with Dell Computer whereby Dell account executives would sell BlackBerry devices to large corporate accounts.

It featured a larger screen than the BlackBerry , a bit Intel processor, five megabytes MB of Intel flash memory, keyboard, embedded wireless modem, integrated organizer, and full support for the BlackBerry wireless e-mail solution. While Palm, Inc. RIM had about , BlackBerry units in use, with about 50, of them at corporations. In other developments the company teamed with Certicom to provide secure transactions over its handheld devices, and it reached a new agreement with BellSouth Wireless Data to supply the company with , wireless handheld devices.

BellSouth also agreed to offer the BlackBerry wireless e-mail solution to its corporate clients. It was the largest philanthropic gift in Canadian history.

In BlackBerry wireless e-mail service became more widely available in Europe. All the solutions I've heard proposed by shareholders involve things like spinning off part of the business or appointing a new independent Chairman or changing the co-CEO structure or even replacing the two co-CEOs. They're all band-aids for a patient that has terminal cancer. They had a terrible product line. Carl Icahn came in and demanded they break the company in two and bring in new "professional" management for the mobile phone business.

They did countless layoffs and decided to partner with Google's Android system entirely. Yet, 4. Turn the lights out on this once great company. Research in Motion's days as an independent company are over. Its content may differ from the original due to final editing. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. Nov 8, , am EST. May 19, , pm EDT. Apr 28, , pm EDT.

Apr 21, , pm EDT. Apr 21, , am EDT. Apr 17, , pm EDT. Mar 24, , am EDT. Mar 4, , pm EST. Edit Story. Jul 18, , am EDT. Q4 BlackBerry drops to 8. June, company reports first net loss in eight years, lays off 5, employees and Heins announces new BlackBerry phones are delayed until late early BlackBerry phones remain generations behind the competition with x displays and slow CPUs.

Q3 BlackBerry drops to 5. October, stock rally begins as BB10 launch date revealed, new handsets teased, media campaign starts. December, BlackBerry U. The company just announced news of new music and movie partners for BlackBerry World. Sponsored Headlines. More from InvestorPlace. Subscriber Sign in Username. Sign in.