BlackBerry Torch lights a 45 pct profit gain for RIM

December 17, 2010 By Jeffrey Van Camp

On Thursday, RIM posted strong sales and a 45 percent net profit for the three months ending Nov. 27.

Despite losing market share to Android and Apple, Research in Motion is showing strong sales. On Thursday, the BlackBerry maker posted a 45 percent increase in net profit for the third quarter of 2010 (the three months ending Nov. 27), reports the NY Times. RIM attributes much of its success to strong sales of its BlackBerry Torch smartphone, its newest flagship device featuring a new version of the BlackBerry operating system and a touchscreen without the annoying clicking sounds of the BB Storm.

Strong sales accompany the surge in profit. RIM shipped 14.2 million BlackBerry phones in the quarter and added 5.1 million subscribers, though we do not know which regions of the world new sales came from. While BlackBerry sales remain strong in developing countries, market share in the United States and other premium markets has been slipping as iPhone and Android devices have grown in popularity.

Recently, RIM has been putting much of its emphasis on the tablet market. Its upcoming tablet, named the PlayBook, will feature a completely new OS and have a dual-core processor, which executives have said will significantly boost its performance. At the same time, one of the company’s CEOs said he believes that smartphone apps are a fad and attacked Apple for making them popular. RIM also bought a design company earlier this month, which it hopes will help spruce up the look of its software and user interfaces as it attempts to compete with Apple and Google.

Do you own a Torch? How does it compare to earlier BlackBerry phones? Android and iPhone?

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Smitty at 7:28am 17th December 2010 Love my new Torch. I am the biggest Apple fanboy there is but work only supports BB. Just got it last week and LOVE IT. Goof job by RIMM and my guess is that the next generation Storm will be even better. This company is locked into the Enterprise and is ready for a long-delayed upgrade cycle as the economy recovers and IT starts to spend again. Playbook will be a major hit in the Enterprise as well - whether they can tap the consumer market is another question. If they do? Katy bar the doors for $150/share.