RIM stock falls on declining market share report

Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion fell ten per cent Tuesday on reports that its market share in the U.S. smartphone has dropped to 1.6 per cent.

RIM shares closed down $1.20, or more than 10 per cent, at $10.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, after earlier falling to as low as $10.65.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said Tuesday the BlackBerry’s share fell by nearly seven percentage points in the 12 weeks ending on Oct. 28 while Apple’s iPhone’s share more than doubled to 48 per cent.

Apple released its latest model, the iPhone 5, in September. RIM will launch its new BlackBerry 10 on January 30.

RIM’s stock has gained about $2.45 during November, but is still down 32 per cent since the beginning of the year.