Wall Street is not pleased with Research in Motion (RIMM), famous for their BlackBerry mobile phone, according to Jim Goldman with CNBC on Friday. Analyst downgrades on Friday were steep, strong and fast.

RIM reported that it has spent US$380 million in advertising, yet guidance was dismal and sales were less than hoped for. That led Cannacord Adams to reset its target for RIMM from $185 to $72.50, RBC from $165 to $90 and Credit Suisse from $100 to $80.

As a result, on Friday shares in RIMM dropped precipitously, from about US$100 on Thursday to under $75 on Friday.

Source: eTrade

"How did the Street, indeed so many of us, get this one wrong?" Mr. Goldman asked. "Simply, there’s been an almost irrational exuberance surrounding this can’t-do-wrong company. Metrics and channel checks seemed solid. Same with ongoing trends. Almost across the board among analyst research."

One of the problems is that no one knows how RIM will price their products. When the prices come in lower than expected, investors expect the company to miss its target. Apple, in contrast, doesn’t have that problem. The iPhone price doesn’t change until Steve Jobs says it will.

It’s not clear at this point whether RIM’s poor earnings report was due to the overall market or competition from Apple. More light will be shed on that when Apple issues its own earnings report in October.