BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) cut its third quarter earnings and revenue guidance due to sharp currency fluctuations, slower subscriber growth and downturn in economy.

Early on Wednesday, the company said it expects adjusted earnings per share for third quarter to range from 81 cents to 83 cents a share, compared with a previous estimate of 89 cents to 97 cents.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said it expects sales to grow by about 65%, to a range of $2.75 billion to $2.78 billion, lower than the previous forecast in the range of $2.95 billion to $3.1 billion.

Gross margin in the quarter is expected at 45% to 46%, which again is lower than previous expectations of 47%. The company registered a record 50.7% gross margin in the fiscal second quarter.

RIM said it expects the number of net new BlackBerry subscriber accounts added in the quarter to be about 2.6 million, lower than the earlier estimate of 2.9 million.

Analysts on average were looking for earnings of 91 cents a share on sales of $2.94 billion.

In a statement the company said the lowered forecast was "primarily due to the lower-than-estimated revenue and the unfavorable impact of the strengthening U.S. dollar during the quarter." Much of the weakness is "due to lower than estimated unit shipments of existing products, which RIM believes is a reflection of general economic weakness in the United States."

Co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said "initial sales of new products have been very positive ... however product launch timing, general economic conditions and foreign exchange volatility have tempered our results in the third quarter." He added "we believe RIM is well positioned to capitalize on the increasing smartphone market opportunity and we remain focused on driving growth in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 and beyond."

The company launched its much awaited "Bold" and "Storm" model last quarter.

The company insisted that customer response to new BlackBerry products has been "exceptional," with net subscriber account additions reaching a record level on the day the BlackBerry Storm was launched.

RIM is expected to report its fiscal third-quarter results and financial guidance for fourth quarter on Dec. 18. 

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.