FACTBOX: RIM grapples U.S. economic slowdown

(Reuters) - The weak U.S. economy has finally caught up with Research In Motion, forcing the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone on Tuesday night to cut its quarterly profit estimate as sales slow, margins narrow and a stronger U.S. dollar compresses revenue.

Here are some facts about the company:

-Founded in 1984, Research In Motion is based in Waterloo, Ontario and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific

-Company founder Mike Lazaridis started the company while he was a student at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

-The CEO post is shared by Lazaridis, who is responsible for product strategy, research and development, product development and manufacturing and by Jim Balsillie, who handles corporate strategy, business development, marketing, sales and finance.

-The BlackBerry, RIM's popular handset, was launched in 1999. It gained popularity among executives, politicians and other professionals seeking a means to securely send wireless emails.

-Factoring in the expected addition of 2.6 million new subscribers in the quarter ended November 29, the total BlackBerry user base is now more than 20 million worldwide.

-The company has pushed aggressively into the broader consumer market with multimedia-rich devices such as the BlackBerry Pearl, as well as a flip handset and a touch-screen phone called the Storm.

-RIM's shares are down about 75 percent since June, when they set a year high of $148.13 on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Frank McGurty)