With revenues down and layoffs in the works, Research In Motion is struggling to find a strategy that will stop the losses.

Like the troubled Finnish mobile manufacturer Nokia, RIM is facing pressures on sales and lower margins. If the company is to continue to compete against Google and Apple, it needs to improve margins and get to market quickly with products that are relevant to consumers.

?RIM has recently shifted its strategy toward low-end smartphones, such as  Curve, targeted at different segments and regions of the world,? said Dave McQueen, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, Westborough, MA.

?The shift from a value to a volume manufacturer implies the company needs to get better control of its manufacturing chain in order to remain competitive in this low-margin landscape,? he said.

Bolstering the fort
Mr. McQueen points to RIM?s troubles with insuring large-scale production in cost-effective and timely manner and disappoint from RIM?s partners over its struggles to honor its contracts as challenges the company faces.

?The company needs to shift its manufacturing facilities to lower cost and higher-scale regions in order to return to making good margins, whilst making sure it is more timely at getting its expected products and features to its partners,? Mr. McQueen said.

Waterloo, Canada-based RIM reported a 12 percent revenue decline for the first quarter and said layoffs were coming.

The company blames the drop in revenue in the  U.S on the age of the BlackBerry portfolio.

During a conference call with analysts about its first quarter results, RIM executives said that they are planning to bring the company back to profitability.

However, while recent financial figures are not good and plans for a 10-inch PlayBook are being scrapped, the company is taking moves to support its position and be in mobile for the long haul.

?RIM?s decision for a reduction in workforce suggests they are staying the course and bolstering the walls of the fort to maintain what they do have,? said Denise Lund, senior analyst, enterprise mobility, at Yankee Group, Boston.

?The game is far from over for RIM ? they will be around a long time,? she said.

Additionally, the decision to drop plans for a 10-inch version of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet was reportedly made so RIM can focus on delivering its first smartphones using the same operating system that powers the PlayBook.

Getting to the market quickly with a new generation of smartphones with touchscreen capability is critical for RIM as smartphone sales continue to grow.

Addressing consumer needs in smart devices has been one of the company?s shortcomings, but will be critical for RIM going forward

?RIM?s decline began after consumer preferences started shifting from mobile messaging to touch-based Web browsing and apps,? said Alex Spektor, senior analyst, global wireless practice, at Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA.

Future of RIM
RIM is beginning to incorporate more touch into its portfolio.

Last year?s Torch and the PlayBook tablet are examples of new devices with touchscreen technology.

?Their more recent devices, such as the PlayBook, are a definite step in the right direction in terms of the user experience,? Ms. Lund said. ?The PlayBook is neck and neck with the Samsung Galaxy tablet as a tablet being considered for purchase ? they are both second to iPad.?

However, the company?s portfolio is still heavily skewed toward keyboard-only input.

This will present a challenge unless RIM is able to quickly bring out more touchscreen devices.

?RIM needs to continue attacking the touch space with more touchscreen devices and a stronger touch experience,? Mr. Spektor said.

?The QnX platform on the PlayBook tablet shows that RIM is capable of deliver a strong touch user experience,? he said.

?The next step is pushing that user experience across more devices to rebuild consumer excitement and developer interest.?

Q tip
The PlayBook uses the new QnX operating system, which RIM could roll out across a variety of platforms as it looks to replace the older BlackBerry OS. RIM acquired QnX in 2010.

?As a technology, QnX has the potential to reinvigorate RIM in the smartphone market and help it maintain its competitiveness, although this is under the proviso that the company can quickly create an ecosystem around the OS,? Informa?s Mr. McQueen said. 

However, the transition to QnX could present its own set of challenges.

?The transition to QnX could disrupt RIM?s execution plans and its product portfolio in the near term, although probably not to the same degree that Nokia?s operations have been disrupted by its transition to the Windows Phone platform,? Mr. McQueen said.

One of RIM?s strengths has been its presence popularity among corporate buyers.

The enterprise segment continues to be an important one for RIM.

?I don?t expect that enterprises that have invested in the device are going to just up and leave it and head to something else,? Yankee Group?s Ms. Lund said.

One of the challenges for RIM going forward will be how to balance its strength among corporate buyers with the need to develop consumer-friendly features.

?About 60 percent of smartphones and tablets are brought into the enterprise by the employees themselves,? Ms.  Lund said. ?The challenge for RIM is how to take that proportion and apply it appropriately to its product road map.?