The worst-case scenario was another delay in BB10 — and that’s just what BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. delivered.

Its announcement late Thursday that a make-or-break line of next-generation smartphones will not see the light of day until at least the first quarter of next year sent the company’s stock into another tailspin and had analysts questioning the viability of RIM’s comeback.

“Will they be here in six months? Probably. In a year or two years? I really have my doubts,” says independent tech industry analyst Kevin Dede.

Activist shareholder Vic Alboini called the results — and the company’s go-it-alone strategy — “an unmitigated disaster.”

Related: When will we see BB10?

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Some analysts have suggested RIM’s share of the global smartphone market could plunge below 5 per cent by the end of this year.

“This is a tragedy. They were such a dominant company, and they squandered it,” said Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu.

RIM has been banking on the launch of its long-awaited BB10 system as a potential saviour for the struggling company, which has been losing market share at the hands of Apple’s iPhone and smartphones running Google’s Android operating system. The rollout is already a year behind schedule.

In a conference call with analysts, Heins said getting the new system right was more important than doing it quickly.

“I will not deliver a product to the market that is not ready to meet the needs of our customers,” said Heins.

Timing of the launch will put the release past the key back to school and Christmas holiday season and would see the products hit store shelves months after release of the sixth iPhone, and a new offering of smartphones from Microsoft under the Windows 8 banner.

Heins, who replaced co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie at the start of the year, said integrating software and processing large volumes of code “has proven to be more time consuming that anticipated.”

“This was a challenging quarter for the company on many fronts,” Heins said on the conference call.

In addition to the BB10 delay, RIM said it lost $518 million (U.S.) or 99 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter ended June 2, versus the consensus analyst forecast for a cent in red ink — and compared to a $695 million, $1.33 profit in the year earlier period. The company also announced it will eliminate 5,000 jobs — almost a third of the company’s global total — by the end of the year as it tries to cut $1 billion in costs.

News of the looming cuts hit home in Waterloo, where roughly 7,500 RIM employees work. “While we still don’t know where the cuts will be, my heart goes out to any of the people affected by this,” said Waterloo mayor Brenda Halloran. Sources familiar with RIM’s plans suggested the majority of the job cuts will be coming in Canada.

Still, Halloran expressed optimism that employees who lose their jobs with RIM would be able to find work at Waterloo’s other tech companies.

“We’re not a one-horse town here,” said Halloran.

RIM shares fell as much as 18 per cent in after hours trading to $7.55 (U.S.), with the stock off by about 35 per cent year to date and more than 70 per cent over the past 12 months.

The company said revenue fell 33 per cent to $2.8 billion, in line with forecasts as RIM sacrificed market share in North America to Apple’s iPhone and Android. Sales revenue in international markets also declined in the quarter as average device prices fell and consumers awaited refreshed products.

Heins said the company will continue to promote its aging lineup of BB7 devices while it intensifies a strategic review with outside advisors to leverage assets including its secured network infrastructure, its popular messaging service and its 78 million subscriber base, up slightly from 77 million in the preceding quarter.

Heins said RIM is in “intense” discussions with several potential partners as part of a strategic review that included the hiring of two investment banks. The company, said Heins, is focused on licensing its BB10 platform to build its subscriber base.

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That’s not good enough for investors like Alboini, who believes the only way for shareholders to get any value out of the company is to sell it off piece by piece.

But the company’s current strategy got at least one significant backer. Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial says it continues to back RIM’s plans.

“RIM continues to build cash and to be financially strong while they do the right thing by taking the long-term view to bring out the best new product possible. We continue to be strong supporters and long-term holders,” said Fairfax’s Paul Rivett in an e-mailed statement.

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