Blackberry glitches continue for second day
OTTAWA—Blackberry users across much of the globe experienced outages in key functions for a second straight day Tuesday, while a Canadian merchant bank jacked up pressure for a management change.
The glitches that impaired messaging, emails and Internet browsing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on Monday had spread to India and South America on Tuesday, Canada-based Research In Motion (RIM) confirmed.
“Some users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, India, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina are experiencing messaging and browsing delays,” it said in a statement.
“We are working to restore normal service as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.”
RIM, which makes the smartphone, had announced Monday that it had fixed the problem, after users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa reported not being able to receive or send email, use instant messaging or browse the Internet — though the problems did not appear to be the same for each user, or affect all users.
Then on Tuesday, customers began posting messages online saying Blackberry services were down again.
In a Twitter message, RIM confirmed that “Some areas have messaging delays and impaired browsing.”
RIM has struggled this year with weaker sales of the BlackBerry smartphone against rivals like Apple’s iPhone, various models from HTC, and other handsets running Google’s Android software.
The company has 70 million Blackberry subscribers worldwide.
Also Tuesday, merchant bank and activist shareholder Jaguar Financial announced that eight percent of RIM shareholders support its proposal for a shake-up in RIM’s management, or a sale, merger or break-up of the company.
“There are signs of a broken organizational structure, which is highlighted by several key employee departures,” Jaguar said in a statement.
“In addition, management has failed to appreciate RIM’s competitive environment, which largely explains RIM’s declining market presence and dramatically reduced share price. RIM has become a reactionary company trying to compete in an innovative industry.”
Jaguar also accused RIM founder and co-chief executive Jim Balsillie of neglecting the company from 2006 to 2009 while he chased “his dream of buying an NHL hockey team.”
“A management team not fully focused during a crucial four year period resulted in a leaderless company, a problem that remains today,” said Jaguar chief executive Vic Alboini.
“It is time for meaningful and obvious change,” he added, calling for a new independent chairman and directors “with substantial technology experience” at RIM.
RIM’s shareprice closed up 5.1 percent at $24.41 Tuesday, but was down 58 percent since the beginning of the year.
