BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is expanding its
research and development capabilities with a new
facility in Western Europe, the company said on
Wednesday.
RIM will spend $45 million in the first year of
operations at the new site in Bochum, Germany. It is
scheduled to open this summer with 140 new employees
and plans to expand to up to 500 in the future.
The company said the work at the site will focus on
both hardware and software development for the
BlackBerry, the company's flagship smartphone.
Developing new applications and handsets is the key
to expanding RIM's future subscriber base as it faces
increasing competition from the likes of Apple's
iPhone.