Apple, Research In Motion, Microsoft: Tech Winners & Losers

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Apple (AAPL) shares were falling in trading midday Monday, off 1.16% to $540.70, reversing earlier gains as rumors hit about the company's next smartphone, the iPhone 5S.

Apple is reportedly starting trial production on the iPhone 5S. This comes just three months after Apple announced the iPhone 5 to significant fanfare.

The technology giant has also come to terms with Taiwanese handset maker HTC over patent litigation, with HTC reportedly paying between $6 and $8 per handset, according to Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu.

Apple has amped up its patent litigation in recent weeks, as it believes Android, Google's (GOOG) mobile operating system, infringes upon several iPhone-related patents.

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Research In Motion (RIMM) shares were rising, gaining 2.57% to $8.76, after the company announced its BlackBerry 10 platform would launch early next year.

In a statement, RIM said the launch event will happen on Jan. 30, 2013, taking place in multiple countries around the world. The company said the first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones would also be unveiled at the event.

"In building BlackBerry 10, we set out to create a truly unique mobile computing experience that constantly adapts to your needs. Our team has been working tirelessly to bring our customers innovative features combined with a best in class browser, a rich application ecosystem, and cutting-edge multimedia capabilities. All of this will be integrated into a user experience -- the BlackBerry Flow -- that is unlike any smartphone on the market today," said Thorsten Heins, president and CEO in the press release.

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Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell 1.73% to $28.33 after CEO Steve Ballmer called sales of the company's Surface tablet "modest."

Ballmer was interviewed by French newspaper Le Parisien; he cited limited availability online and few retail stores as the reason for the slow start to sales.

Interested in more on Microsoft? See TheStreet Ratings' report card for this stock.

--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York

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