The question of Research in Motion's (AAPL: sentiment, chart, options) ability to stave off the success of Apple's iPhone keep resurfacing. Today, Silicon Alley Insider hit on the topic again when it detailed comments from Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha. Garcha maintains an "underperform" rating and a $100 price target on RIMM, claiming that Wall Street's earnings estimates for the company are over inflated.

Part of his reasoning is that growth in the smartphone market is close to topping out - the logical conclusion being that any additional gains by RIMM competitors will cut into the company's market share. Garcha also feels that the company's AT&T market share will dwindle with the release of the new iPhone 3G, and that RIMM's other heavy weight, Verizon, will not make up for the lost share.

But SAI isn't the only media outlet questioning RIMM's ability to hold its own again Apple. MarketWatch's Therese Poletti also poses the question "Can the new iPhone flatten the BlackBerry?"

The relentless barrage from the financial media appears to have taken its toll on investor sentiment, as the once overloved RIMM is quickly becoming a bearish favorite. For instance, the stock's SOIR of 1.10 ranks above 79% of all those taken during the past year, while short interest surged 13% during the most recent reporting period to 4.5% of the stock's float. While this rising negativity could provide a short-term drag on the shares, the stock's long-term uptrend along its 10-month moving average remains in tact.