Struggling RIM announces new executive hires

(AP) -- BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has hired two new senior executives as it faces its most difficult period in its history.

RIM said Monday that Frank Boulben will be the new chief marketing officer, a job RIM's new CEO says is critically important. Boulben served as executive vice president of strategy and marketing at LightSquared, a struggling wireless company.

Kristian Tear is the new chief operating officer. Tear served as executive vice president of Sony Mobile Communications, another struggling technology company.

Americans are abandoning their BlackBerrys for flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple's iPhone and models that run Google's Android software. Analysts say RIM's futures depends on their new operating platform due out later this year, although many say it may come too late.