Free Republic

For the first time, struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion saw a decline in its subscriber base, reporting that the number of customers declined to 79 million in its fiscal third quarter. Three months ago, the Canadian company had 80 million subscribers. Revenue for the third quarter was $2.7 billion, down 47% from $5.2 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. The company posted a loss of $9 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with a profit of $265 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.

<p>The crisis at Blackberry maker Research In Motion Ltd. showed no sign of lifting Thursday, as the company said a long awaited product revamp would be delayed until late 2012.</p> <p>RIM's two top executives made a symbolic gesture of resolve, asking that their pay be dropped to $1 a year.</p>

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. has won backing from major cellular networks for a new generation of phones designed to transform mobile e-mail from executive accessory to standard issue for the corporate rank-and-file. The partnerships, with operators including Vodafone and Cingular, to be announced Monday at a mobile industry gathering in Spain, could spell more trouble for the embattled Blackberry and other niche e-mail technologies, analysts say. Unlike the Blackberry and its peers, phones running Microsoft's latest Windows Mobile operating system can receive e-mails "pushed" directly from servers that handle a company's messaging -- without the need for a...