BlackBerry makers Research In Motion have been said to be on 'death watch' by technology industry insiders after a disastrous earnings announcement.
"Zombie Steve Jobs couldn't fix RIM," said one developer after the news.
It's certainly hard times over there. RIM reported a 33% decline in revenue from $42.bn to 2.8bn in the first quarter of 2012. It also suffered a net lost for the three months ending 2 June of $518m, or a loss of 37 cents per share).
In response the Canadian company has announced both massive layoffs (at least 5,000 posts) and fresh delays for its BB10 operating system, now scheduled for 2013.
And after its shares 'plunged' in extended trading by 18% to record a new nine-year low, RIM CEO Thurston Heins admitted it was a "challenging" time.
on a conference call. "And I am not satisfied with the financial performance we are reporting today."
In response the tech blog Ars Technica said that RIM was now "officially on our death watch".
Saying that the company was "basically haemorrhaging money" and added "it is very unlikely the company will ever return to what it was at the height of the Blackberry".
Analysts - and hundreds of people on Twitter - agree that the future was bleak.
"This is nothing short of a complete disaster," said Kris Thompson, a technology analyst with National Bank Financial, according to the Canadian Globe & Mail.
Kerry Morrison, CEO of Toronto software developer Endloop Mobile, added to the G&M that BlackBerry's "one hope" was now gone.
He said: “They had one hope – one – and that was to make BB10 the greatest thing since sliced bread and get it out on time. Clearly, they have failed. There’s just no way now to pull out of the death spiral."
"With stiff competition and a complete lack of marketplace trust, zombie Steve Jobs couldn't fix RIM."