BlackBerry Gets a Black Eye in Europe

Users in Europe, Africa and the Middle East can't send e-mails or surf the web.

They can't send BBM messages either, which pretty much takes the “smart” out of Research in Motion's

“smartphone.” The company

earlier today, saying, “Some areas have messaging delays and impaired browsing. We're working to restore normal service as quickly as possible. ^PM.” According to

, several companies – Vodafone Egypt, Safaricom, Batelco, and T-Mobile UK – have confirmed that their customers are being affected by these problems. That's not the only issue the BlackBerry maker is dealing with today.

reports that, in addition to the aforementioned service troubles, a shareholder with at least 8% of the company's shares is calling for a sale or corporate shake-up.