RIM falls on report big customer also buying iPhones

Shares in Research In Motion closed down 2.4 per cent on a report that the U.S. government's main procurement agency is issuing Apple's iPhones alongside Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphones.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, RIM shares were down 36 cents at $14.55.

The U.S. government's General Services Administration is the latest organization to allow iPhones in the workplace alongside BlackBerrys.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has begun issuing iPhones and American energy drilling giant Halliburton has saidit's phasing out BlackBerrys among its 70,000 employees.