Blackberry maker shares plummet

Shares in Research In Motion, the Canadian firm responsible for manufacturing the Blackberry device, have fallen to their lowest price in five years on the back of poor quarterly results.

RIM shares fell to below $US28 per share, or less than one fifth of the $150 per share high reached in June 2008.

The fall came after RIM released its first-quarter results last week, which showed revenue of $4.9bn and profit of $695m compared with the forecast $5.2-$5.6bn and $770-$812m.

Commentators have compared the firm's troubles with those of Nokia, saying the platform manufacturers are struggling to match competition from Apple's iPhone and devices using Google's Android software.

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