BlackBerry Surrenders on Consumer Market

Struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion said today it will cede most consumer markets after failing to compete with flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple's iPhone and models that run Google's Android software. Instead, RIM said it will return to its roots and focus on business customers, many of whom prefer BlackBerrys for their security. RIM has had limited success trying to enter consumer markets in recent years, and RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said a turnaround required "substantial change."

Also today, RIM said former co-CEO Jim Balsillie has resigned from its board, and two other top execs are leaving in a management shakeup. Apple sold 37 million iPhones in the last three months of 2011, more than what RIM shipped in the past three quarters combined. RIM shipped 11.1 million BlackBerrys in the latest quarter. (More Research In Motion stories.)