Research In Motion on Thursday reported earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2012. After cutting its first-quarter outlook at the end of April, RIM’s May quarter came in below analyst estimates. First quarter revenue came in at $4.9 billion versus the Street’s estimate of $5.5 billion, and device shipments totalled 13.2 million versus expectations of 13.5 million. Net income for the quarter was $695 million, down from $769 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Earnings per share in the first quarter beat estimates by a penny at $1.33. RIM’s revenue for the quarter breaks down as 78% hardware, 20% service, and 2% software and other revenue. In the second quarter, RIM trimmed its outlook to $4.2-$4.5 billion in revenue, significantly under the Street’s consensus of $5.46 billion. RIM’s second-quarter EPS forecast is just $0.75-$1.05 versus $1.40 consensus. For the full year, RIM cut its EPS outlook from $7.50 to between $5.25 and $6 per share. “Fiscal 2012 has gotten off to a challenging start,” RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said in a statement. “The slowdown we saw in the first quarter is continuing into Q2, and delays in new product introductions into the very late part of August is leading to a lower than expected outlook in the second quarter.” RIM also said it would soon begin a “program to streamline operations” that will involve job cuts. Shares of RIM stock opened down 15% in after-hours trading. RIM’s full press release follows below.

RESEARCH IN MOTION REPORTS FIRST QUARTER FISCAL 2012 RESULTS AND REVISES FULL YEAR GUIDANCE

ANNOUNCES PLANS TO STREAMLINE OPERATIONS AND ACCELERATE NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVES SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM), a world leader in the mobile communications market, today reported first quarter results for the three months ended May 28, 2011 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S. GAAP).

Highlights: • Revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 grew 16% over the same quarter last year • International revenue1 in Q1 grew 67% year over year • Gross margin in the quarter was approximately 44%, slightly higher than expected due to product mix • RIM launched the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet in North America and shipped approximately 500,000 units in the first quarter

Q1 Fiscal 2012 Results:

Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $4.9 billion, down 12% from $5.6 billion in the previous quarter and up 16% from $4.2 billion in the same quarter of last year. The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 78% for hardware revenue, 20% for service and 2% for software and other revenue. During the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 13.2 million BlackBerry handheld devices and approximately 500,000 BlackBerry Playbook tablets.

“Fiscal 2012 has gotten off to a challenging start. The slowdown we saw in the first quarter is continuing into Q2, and delays in new product introductions into the very late part of August is leading to a lower than expected outlook in the second quarter.” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “RIM’s business is profitable and remains solid overall with growing market share in numerous markets around the world and a strong balance sheet with almost $3 billion in cash. We believe that with the new products scheduled for launch in the next few months and realigning our cost structure, RIM will see strong profit growth in the latter part of fiscal 2012.”

Net income for the quarter was $695 million, or $1.33 per share diluted, compared with net income of $934 million, or $1.78 per share diluted, in the prior quarter and net income of $769 million, or $1.38 per share diluted, in the same quarter last year.

The total of cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments was $2.9 billion as of May 28, 2011, compared to $2.7 billion at the end of the previous quarter, an increase of approximately $170 million from the prior quarter. Cash flow from operations in Q1 was approximately $1 billion. Uses of

1 Includes revenue outside of the U.S. and Canada

June 16, 2011cash included intangible asset additions of approximately $560 million, capital expenditures of approximately $220 million and business acquisitions of approximately $30 million.

Cost Optimization Program:

The company also announced that it will begin a program to streamline operations across the organization, which will include a headcount reduction. This realignment will be focused on taking out redundancies and a reallocation of resources to allow us to focus on the areas that offer the highest growth opportunities and align with RIM strategic objectives, such as accelerating new product introductions. We expect to implement this program beginning in the second quarter with the benefits impacting results primarily in Q3 and beyond. Any one-time charges associated with this initiative are not included in our Q2 and full year outlook but will be identified and disclosed when we report our second quarter results.

Share Repurchase Program:

RIM’s Board of Directors today also approved a share repurchase program to purchase for cancellation through the facilities of the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ) or by way of private agreement up to 5% of RIM’s outstanding common shares. The share repurchase program may commence after July 10, 2011 and will remain in place for up to 12 months or until the purchases are completed or the program is terminated by RIM.

The price that RIM will pay for any shares purchased over NASDAQ will be the prevailing market price at the time of purchase. The share repurchase program will be effected in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which contains restrictions on the number of shares that may be purchased on a single day, subject to certain exceptions for block purchases, based on the average daily trading volumes of RIM’s shares on NASDAQ. Any purchases made by way of private agreement may be at a discount to the prevailing market price at the time of purchase, and would be subject to regulatory approval.

RIM’s Board of Directors believes that a share repurchase program at this time is in the best interests of RIM and its shareholders, and will not impact RIM’s ability to execute its growth plans. Any shares purchased under the program will increase the proportionate interest of, and may be advantageous to, all remaining shareholders of RIM.

The actual number of shares purchased, the timing of purchases, and the price at which the shares would be bought under the share repurchase program will depend on future market conditions and upon potential alternative uses for cash resources. There is no assurance that any shares will be purchased under the share repurchase program and RIM may elect to suspend or discontinue the program at any time.

Q2 and Full Year 2012 Outlook:

Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 ending August 27, 2011 is expected to be in the range of $4.2-$4.8 billion. Gross margin percentage for the second quarter is expected to be approximately 39%. Earnings per share for the second quarter are expected to be $0.75-$1.05 diluted, excluding any one-time charges. Earnings per share for the full year fiscal 2012 are now expected to be between $5.25-$6.00 diluted, excluding any one-time charges or share repurchases.

We knew right when we exclusively revealed the BlackBerry Monaco and Monza back in January that the devices would likely shed the “Storm” moniker, and now it’s looking even more likely. BlackBerry enthusiast blog N4BB cites multiple sources in suggesting that RIM may have finally landed on a new brand for the full touchscreen smartphone it is preparing to launch later this year: “Volt.” The report is unsure at best however, suggesting that RIM might instead choose to slap the Torch brand on the Monaco 9850 and Monza 9860. We took a hands-on look at the BlackBerry Monaco/Monza — which features a 3.7-inch touchscreen, a 1.2GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera and NFC — back in March.

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If you own a BlackBerry and haven’t yet heard of Slacker, you clearly haven’t been paying attention. The spunky Internet radio provider is making headlines again today and VZW-branded Storm owners should take note — Big Red has announced a new deal to get Slacker on your handset whether you like it or not. But why wouldn’t you like it? Slacker streams custom genre or artist-based stations directly to your handset, computer or Slacker portable device and keeps things fresh with a library of over 4 million songs. A free version of the service plays an occasional ad and only allows users to skip up to five songs per hour, while a paid subscription option removes both annoyances and adds a few more features. Over the next few days the app will be pushed out to VZW Storms OTA and unlike prior versions, the app will give users the option to purchase tracks they hear through the V CAST music store. Ahh, it all makes sense now. Congrats to the Slacker folks on a pretty huge coup and congrats to Big Red for adding even more functionality and value to its Storm.

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You won’t see it on the dedicated BlackBerry page just yet but rest assured, Pandora has launched the highly anticipated BlackBerry Storm version of its mobile streaming application. When we told you about initial BlackBerry availablility last month, there were two main caveats: 1) No T-Mo. 2) No Storm. Resourceful as our readers are, it was quickly discovered that the whole no T-Mobile thing could be circumvented pretty easily. The lack of a Storm-compatible build however, would prove to be a slightly tougher nut to crack (obviously). No matter, as Pandora unveiled an official Storm build via its Twitter feed last night. Enough talk — time to get streaming. Hit www.pandora.com from your Storm’s browser or look for it in App World to get your hands on Pandora Radio and let us now how it goes.

Here’s what we got so far for you… Rogers is coming back into the mix in 2009 with a pretty impressive lineup of BlackBerry handsets. This isn’t by all means a definitive list, (read: possibly more devices, etc.) but it should whet your appetite a little bit. Without further ado, as told to us by one of those world-famous RIM ninjas, we have:

That’s a special little present each quarter for you. We were going to ask which one would you get out of that list, but we know you guys will just grab every single one of them you sick, sick freaks.

What’s an embargo? We’ve never heard that word before… Here’s your first look at what all the other sites will soon start reporting on — official BlackBerry Storm press images and spec sheet! Here’s the official specs for the Verizon unit which we already knew:

• 128MB of RAM, 1GB built-in memory
• 1400mAh battery with 15 days standby (yeah right) and 5.5 hours of talk time
• Dual-band 800/1900MHz CDMA/EV-DO Rev A
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 2100MHz HSDPA

More images, spec sheet and joint Verizon, Vodafone, and RIM press release after the jumpage! All they say is a release next month. Anyone notice that there isn’t tri-band HSDPA at all?

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**********UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 12:01 AM ET ON WEDS. OCT. 8**********
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     MEDIA CONTACTS:

BLACKBERRY TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM ON THE MOST RELIABLE NETWORKS IN EUROPE AND THE U.S.

Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and RIM Deliver the Power of a Smartphone with the World’s First Tactile Touch Display on a BlackBerry

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., NEWBURY, England, and WATERLOO, Ontario – Verizon Wireless, Vodafone Group (NYSE and LSE: VOD) and Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that the BlackBerry® Storm™  will be available exclusively to Verizon Wireless customers in the U.S. and Vodafone customers in Europe, Australia and New Zealand next month.
Designed to appeal to both consumers and business customers, the BlackBerry Storm combines the powerful communication features and productivity tools of a global BlackBerry smartphone with revolutionary technology that provides for easy and precise touch screen typing on the world’s first tactile touch display that responds like a keyboard and combines multi-touch and gesture support for intuitive selection and application navigation. 
In the U.S., BlackBerry Storm customers will benefit from the nation’s most reliable wireless voice network and the pervasiveness of Verizon Wireless’ reliable high-speed Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network for rich Internet browsing.  Building on the strong business heritage of BlackBerry, the Storm offers consumers a host of fun and practical features, including:
•    Large high resolution screen coupled with a rich multi-media suite
•    Text (SMS), picture messaging (MMS), the ability to watch 30-second video clips, instant messaging and access to popular social networking sites
•    Removable and rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately 5.5 hours of talk time and 15 days of standby time.

“The BlackBerry Storm offers our customers more ways to stay connected to both their personal and professional lives – whether in their community or around the globe,” said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless.  “The BlackBerry Storm combines the reliability of our network with the dependability and network efficiency of the BlackBerry platform to deliver our customers the ultimate wireless experience – all in one of the coolest smartphones available on the market today.”
The Power is in The Touch
The BlackBerry Storm comes with a unique touch screen that gives a distinct ‘click’ confirmation when depressed ever so slightly, very similar in experience to a keyboard-based BlackBerry smartphone.  An easy to use menu adds support for multi-touches, taps, slides, swipes and other gestures, so customers can easily select, scroll, pan, and zoom for smooth navigation. 
The tactile touch screen display gives customers worldwide a choice of virtual keyboards – RIM’s SureType® layout in portrait and a full QWERTY* layout in landscape orientation.   Relevant features such as cut and paste are only a touch away for the ultimate smartphone experience.
World Class Smartphone
The BlackBerry Storm is a top of the line mobile phone with global connectivity.  In the U.S., the BlackBerry Storm gives Verizon Wireless customers EV-DO Rev. A/CDMA – technology – and (2100Mhz) HSPA/UMTS as well as quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM for global use.  The BlackBerry Storm 9500 from Vodafone supports (2100Mhz) HSPA and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks. 
Browse the World Over
Customers will enjoy a full HTML high performance browser that works in either portrait or landscape orientation.  Navigating Web sites is fast and easy with the touch screen interface that lets users tap to zoom in and slide their finger to scroll.  Icons along the bottom of the display allow for quickly accessing “Favorites”, opening the virtual keyboard to enter text, switching between “Page View” and “Column View”, as well as the ability to toggle between “Pan” mode and “Cursor” mode.  The enhanced browser supports file downloading, streaming audio and video, and with its built-in RSS support, new content from supported Web sites can be automatically pushed to the user.
Packed with Additional Features
The BlackBerry Storm, exclusively from Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, also includes the following features and functions:
•    BlackBerry® Internet Service, BlackBerry® Unite!, BlackBerry® Professional Software and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support for seamless integration with corporate email systems and the security and IT policy controls that enterprise customers require
•    Edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
•    3.2 megapixel camera, with variable zoom, auto focus, and a powerful flash that also provides continuous lighting when recording video; the camera records video in half-VGA resolution (480×320) or at 176×144 for MMS
•    1 GB of on board memory storage and 8 GB microSD memory card included in expandable memory card slot
•    Media player that can find content on the handset in an instant, display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode in any orientation, and manage an entire music collection; playlists can be created directly on the handset and there’s an equalizer with 11 preset filters – including “Lounge”, “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” – for customized audio ranges when using wired headphones or external speakers
•    Sleek, elegant design with contoured corners, stainless steel back and chrome side-accents that frame its large (3.26”), touch sensitive, glass lens display; its exceptional 360 x 480 resolution at 184ppi, offering the highest resolution display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone, is crisp and colorful with clarity that’s easy on the eyes
•    A sensor automatically adjusts to ambient light for ideal screen viewing and an orientation sensor allows customers to use the handset in a portrait or landscape position

Additional details related to availability and pricing will be announced in the coming weeks.  To learn more, visit www.verizonwireless.com/storm.
* Virtual keyboards are also available in AZERTY, QWERTZ and other configurations to support different language groups.

# # #

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD).  For more information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Vodafone
Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications group with approximately 269 million proportionate customers as of 30 June 2008. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 27 countries across five continents and over 40 partner networks worldwide. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com

About Research In Motion
Research In Motion (RIM) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as “intend” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM’s products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights, and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM’s periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. RIM has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.

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Just wanted to give everyone an update on the mess over the weekend and even into today… As I post this our Rackspace servers will probably crash and burn, but oh well. Here are some of the events that played out over the past couple days and why your favorite blogger’s favorite blog site was pretty much non-existent. We were hit hard from a stunning amount of traffic with the Amazon Kindle 2 post. That was completely expected, and ever since our last server issues, we’ve added another server and currently use Akamai as a CDN to help spread out the server load. That helped for a bit, but as soon as we published information on the Storm, all hell broke loose. We’ve been doing around 95Mbps at the switch in traffic on and off since Friday night, and apparently as good as a setup as we have wasn’t enough.

We’re in the process of adding an additional server and load balancer, so if you see us go down for a little bit in the early AM (ET), you’ll know why. We’ve been growing every month and the combination of regular readers coupled with the Slashdots, Engadgets, Gizmodos, and other sites certainly brought in more visitors than we could handle. We’ve hit over 7,000,000 page views in the last month, our highest ever, and what better time to upgrade our hardware? We’re upgrading everything (and believe me, we’re paying out the ass for it) and all should be well in short time. Thanks for sticking with us, guys, and thanks for the support. We’ll be working overtime to make sure we come through with more hotness. Except hopefully next time, we don’t blow Rackspace’s data center out…

Thanks, Bob!

I’ll keep this short, but as most of you that are following the BlackBerry Storm developments over the past couple days know, Verizon has “introduced” the BlackBerry Storm internally. They even published a coming soon page complete with Storm image. The page was then removed today, coincidentally after every major site that mattered had linked to it and posted. Does anyone not see the scam being played out before our eyes? Introduction “internally” and then removing the coming soon page? No press release, no official announcement… am I the only one who’s seeing the bigger picture?

UPDATE: Here’s the link for the actual video hosted on Verizon’s site. Thanks, guys!

UPDATE 2: Storm page is back uppppppz.

Here’s our latest info on the BlackBerry Storm and the fate of the device on Verizon’s network: it just went into technical acceptance at Verizon which usually takes around 3-4 weeks, and the device has been delayed internally by around 3-4 weeks while they work out the kinks (read: buggy and unresponsive) and polish it up. That puts us around a mid-November launch on Verizon. We’ve double confirmed that information, so it should be pretty accurate. Additionally, we heard from someone else that they’ve increased the marketing budget for the BlackBerry Storm just to give AT&T a little kick in the nuts for delaying the Bold so much. That’s not confirmed, still probably a little true, plus we got a chuckle out of that anyway.

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We just got a screen cap of the product inventory screen from a Verizon tipster. It shows that the BlackBerry Thunder, which we’ve all been reporting as a 9500-series device is correct. The specfic model — you guessed it — is the BlackBerry 9530 for Verizon. Would it be any other way? We were also told the launch date on Verizon is October 13th, and that coincides with our previously leaked info just marvelously. Now, is it the Thunder or Storm?