BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) can now breathe a little easy as shares of the company were up more than 6 percent on Tuesday, when rumors of activist investor Carl Icahn taking a stake with the struggling handset manufacturer broke out.

Shares in the wireless device maker jumped as much as 7 percent on Tuesday amid speculation that the billionaire investor had taken a stake in RIM. The company’s stock traded at $23.01 by early afternoon, still up 6 percent.

Both Icahn and RIM’s representatives have yet to confirm the news.

RIM has been left behind in the mobile race as powerhouses Apple and Google took the industry to a higher level with iOS and Android, the latter growing more popular with each passing month. That is why RIM’s new QNX devices will include support for Android apps, and even promised to revive sales with their new BlackBerry OS 7.

I wonder how long RIM can hang in there, as more competitors strengthen their market positions.  Microsoft has Windows Phone 7, which is considered a strong potential contender against Google’s Android, while Apple is set to announce a new iPhone device on October 4^th, and most recently, Amazon’s released of its Kindle Fire, which could hasten the end of RIM’s PlayBook.

RIM needs to step it up with PlayBook 2.0 in a hurry. The Amazon impact on RIM is huge. If RIM’s QNX update in mid-October doesn’t wow the masses it’s going to look like Android 2.1 is better. That perception will taint QNX, which is the linchpin of RIM’s superphone strategy.

It’s not too late for RIM, all they need is to step up their game and bring something new to the table, as soon as possible.