RIM unveils new operating system

Research In Motion (RIM), looking to spur consumer interest in its devices after losing sales to Apple Inc and Google Inc, unveiled a new operating system for its PlayBook tablet computer and new smartphones.

The software, called BlackBerry BBX, combines features of RIM’s existing BlackBerry operating system and its new QNX programme, co-chief executive, Mike Lazaridis, said on Tuesday at RIM’s BlackBerry developer conference in San Francisco.

RIM is banking on the new software to encourage developers to build more programmes for its devices, as consumers increasingly use mobile devices to watch video, listen to music and browse the Web. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s BlackBerry phones have lost market share to Apple’s iPhone and devices running Google’s Android software, which offer a wider selection of applications. RIM’s PlayBook has sold fewer units than some analysts estimated.

RIM rose 2.2 per cent to $22.90 at 12:32 pm New York time. It had lost 61 per cent this year before on Tuesday. RIM’s US smartphone market share fell to 20 per cent in the quarter through August from 25 per cent three months earlier.