TORONTO (Reuters) – A U.S. federal agency that has been phasing out the BlackBerry in favor of the iPhone said on Thursday it would test Research In Motion’s new BB10 smartphones, fueling a fresh spurt in RIM’s shares ahead of the new line’s launch.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will begin a pilot program early next year to test the new line and the software to manage them on its network.
The news, which sent RIM shares up more than 6 percent on Thursday morning, extends a weeks-long rally that has pushed the stock to its highest close in more than seven months.
Investors have warmed to the stock – which had lost about 75 percent of its value in the last two years – on evidence that the make-or-break BB10 line is gaining traction with RIM’s bread-and-butter customers in the weeks before its January 30 launch.
Read also:
BlackBerry 10: We get a sneak peek at RIM's new software (Hamilton Spectator)
BlackBerry gets chance to justify its .gov existence with BB 10 trial (Ars Technica)
US government agency will test new BlackBerry 10 (Alaska Dispatch)
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