RIM, Apple and More: Tech Weekly

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Another week has ended, and the tech world was fixated on Research In Motion (RIMM), not only for its earnings, but also for its long-term prospects.

RIM's shares soared after the BlackBerry maker posted a much narrower-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday, surprising many on Wall Street.

The Canadian firm reported a second-quarter adjusted loss of $142 million, or 27 cents a share, for its fiscal second quarter, on revenue of $2.87 billion. The performance was well ahead of the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for a loss of 46 cents a share on revenue of $2.5 billion.

Research In Motion's Q2 Report: Live Blog Recap

Even though the company handily beat expectations, many Wall Street analysts aren't ready to sound the "all-clear" signal just yet.

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Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha said the quarterly results were OK, but that a turnaround is still a challenge, given the company's competitive position. "With an uncompetitive product portfolio and the need for further restructuring, we believe that there a few positives ahead for the company," Garcha wrote in his note. He rates shares "neutral" with a $7 price target.

Shares of Research In Motion closed out the week sharply higher, gaining 16% to $7.50.

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Another beleaguered company, Barnes & Noble (BKS), was at the forefront of tech this week, unveiling two new NOOKs, to go head-to-head with Amazon (AMZN).

The new 7-inch NOOK will sell for $199, and the 9-inch tablet will go for $269. The 7-inch version of Amazon's Kindle Fire HD starts at $199, while the 8.9-inch model starts at $299. Already available for pre-order online and in stores, the devices will ship in late October and begin arriving in stores in early November.

"With the combination of the highest resolution screen, lightest weight and expansive access to content rendered in a digital quality never before seen, NOOK HD is the world's best 7-inch media tablet," Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch remarked in the company's press release.

Shares of Barnes & Noble closed out the week 7.0% higher at $12.78.

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