18 February 2009, Barcelona, Spain: Research In Motion (RIM) was honoured with the GSMA Chairman’s Award last night at the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards ceremony. This award, established in 1995, is the Association’s most prestigious award and recognises outstanding contribution to the growth and development of mobile communications around the world.
In his presentation to RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie, GSMA Chairman Alexander Izosimov stated that, “RIM’s commitment to innovation has revolutionized the wireless industry and laid the foundations which shaped the thriving smartphone market of today. BlackBerry products and services have changed the way we communicate and interact, making businesses more productive and consumers better connected.”
On receiving the award, Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of RIM, said, “This award is a testament to the talent and commitment of more than 12,000 RIM employees who are all focused on serving our customers and partners. We are more excited than ever by the opportunities ahead in our industry and we are honoured to be recognized with the Chairman’s Award.”
RIM was founded by Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, while a student in Ontario in 1984 and Jim Balsillie joined as Co-CEO in 1992. RIM launched the BlackBerry solution ten years ago as a wireless email solution for enterprise customers and it changed the face of communications. Over the years, it has evolved into a multifaceted and robust wireless platform that supports a wide range of communications, information and entertainment applications for businesses and consumers alike. In recent years, RIM has brought innovative and popular new devices to market including the BlackBerry® Pearl™, the BlackBerry® Curve™, the BlackBerry® Bold™ and the BlackBerry® Storm™, which earned its own award at Mobile World Congress this year.
RIM has now shipped over 50 million BlackBerry smartphones and continues to grow at an impressive rate. In fact, in its thirteen years as a public company, RIM has grown its revenues by a remarkable 170,000%. RIM’s accomplishments in both innovation and business excellence have served the company and the mobile communications industry well, and RIM is the deserving recipient of this year’s GSMA Chairman’s Award.
GSMA Chairman Izosimov added: “In my opinion, BlackBerry helped keep the mobile data flame alive, and it helped the industry justify investment in GPRS and 3G in the face of early scepticism. It’s hard to imagine life before BlackBerry. Before the revolution of the BlackBerry “push email” service, finding a dial up and accessing email was a painful experience and RIM’s passion for innovation and growth has continued steadily since that game-changing breakthrough. It’s an extraordinary story.”
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About the GSMAThe GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites more than 750 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry. For more information, please visit:
www.gsmworld.com.
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