Research in Motion (RIM), like Nokia, has been having a torrid time of late. Also like Nokia, management at RIM is determined to fight back and regain much of the market share it lost.

Despite telling developers at its recent developer meeting that it does not intend to fall apart, RIM struggled to fill even one-third of the hall. The hall holds 1,500 people, apparently, so with 1,000 of those seats unfilled, RIM’s management must nevertheless be worried.

That said, those who attended the conference were seemingly rather impressed with the latest products on display. Furthermore, it seems that shareholders were also impressed, as the company stock rose by 5%. Up until now, RIM’s stock was all but wiped out.

Could this be a turning point for RIM?

One of the devices on show is codenamed Dev Alpha B. This particular device is not a new product as such, but a mechanism for developers and programmers to use to create suitable products in the near future.

In fact, according to chief executive Thorsten Heins, the company wants to showcase next year a new range of handsets, even creating a new operating system that would be suitable for mobile computing.

Earlier this year, management at RIM ditched its PlayBook technology and decided instead to concentrate on developing new BlackBerry devices. It seems this announcement, however, did not have the desired effect on its share value.

Whether this new idea helps is too early to tell. It will probably be many months before anyone can truly see where RIM is going.