Tue May 05, 2009 1:43 pm
Smartphone maker Research In Motion said it is designing a new version of its touch screen BlackBerry Storm as part of a continuing push to move from business devices to more consumer friendly handsets.
"We have next-generation devices with touch screens and the whole roadmap," said RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie. "We see this very large and untapped consumer market."
Launching the Storm late last year, many analysts saw the handset as RIM's answer to rival Apple's popular iPhone -- also a touch screen smartphone.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company has been steadily pushing deeper into the retail market, diversifying its portfolio with more consumer friendly devices such as the Storm and Pearl -- integrating them with photo management software and music players.
RIM has also been careful to remain faithful to its core group of professionals who have been its mainstay. Early success with businesspeople, whose firms pay for the service or who need the device to send secure emails, have allowed RIM to plow money into developing consumer models.
Last month, RIM signaled further growth after announcing that its profits jumped 25 percent despite the slowing economy.
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