RIMM to Ship Cheaper Smartphone

Delay in the launch of BlackBerry 10-based handsets and a continuous loss of market share have forced BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., ( ) to sell new budget-friendly BlackBerry Curve 9315 smartphone on T-Mobile network across the country.

The new handset is expected to hit the T-Mobile stores on January 23. However, the smartphone will be available to the preferred clients from January 16 onwards before it is available for sale to the public.

The new BlackBerry Curve costing $49.99 (inclusive of a $50 mail-in rebate card) comes along with a two-year service contract from T-Mobile USA. It is also offering choice of payments to the budget-friendly customers where they can make a down payment of $49.99 and the balance is to be paid in the next 20 installments.

The new smartphone from Research In Motion is preloaded with all the popular social networking apps like Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger. The handset is powered with Wi-Fi connectivity and a 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash and digital zoom and also supports 32GB of additional media storage.

Both Research In Motion and T-Mobile USA are aggressively realigning its business for future growth prospects as both the companies are continuously losing market traction from their respective rivals.

Research In Motion is facing stiff competition from Apple Inc.’s ( AAPL - Analyst Report ) iPhones and Google Inc.’s ( GOOG - Analyst Report ) Android-based devices. Likewise, weaker product portfolio and lack of 4GLTE spectrum strength is forcing T-Mobile USA to lose market traction against top rivals like AT&T, Inc. ( T - Analyst Report ) and Verizon Wireless.

We maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on Research In Motion Ltd. Currently, the company has a Zacks #3 Rank, implying a short-term (Hold) rating on the stock.