Research In Motion Shares Jump

Research In Motion

(RIMM)

shares shot through the roof Friday morning, after the company signed a software deal with

Nokia

(NOK) - Get Report

.

American depositary receipts of the Waterloo, Ontario-based maker of the Blackberry handheld device jumped $2.44, or 18.7%, to $15.50.

Under the software-licensing deal, Nokia can hook up its devices to RIM's email software, which enables users to access corporate email and update their calendars wirelessly. Until now, RIM's software mostly has run on RIM-manufactured devices, primarily in the North America region.

The deal could be a boost for RIM technology, as Nokia's dominance in the handset arena and strengths in Western Europe may help RIM expand its business.

The deal comes just a day after small British cell-phone maker Sendo

dumped a cell-phone software agreement with Microsoft in favor of one with Nokia.

For RIM, Friday's news caps a big week, after it took steps to settle a patent-infringement suit with handheld-computer maker

Handspring

(HAND)

and also signed a licensing-royalty deal with

Palm

(PALM)

.