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The stage
is set for RIM CEO Thorsten Heins to officially unveil the BlackBerry
10 on
January 30, 2013 (AFP, Timothy A. Clary)
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NEW YORK —
BlackBerry launched its comeback effort Wednesday with a revamped platform and
a pair of sleek new handsets, along with a company name change as part of a
move to reinvent the smartphone maker.
Canadian-based
Research in Motion said it had changed its name to BlackBerry as it launched
the BlackBerry 10, the new platform aimed at helping the firm regain traction
in a market now dominated by rivals.
"From
this point forward RIM becomes BlackBerry," chief executive Thorsten Heins
told a glitzy unveiling in New York, one of six global events for the product
launch. "It is one brand, it is one promise."
The company
unveiled two new devices for its new platform, one with a physical keyboard
called the Q10, and a touchscreen handset dubbed Z10.
The new
BlackBerry "will transform mobile communications into true mobile
computing," Heins said.
"Today
is a brand new day in the history of BlackBerry."
The launch
is seen as critical to BlackBerry, which had been the dominant smartphone maker
before Apple launched its iPhone and others began using the Google Android
operating system.
RIM says
the all-new system will break new ground by allowing customers to flip between
applications seamlessly and without first passing through a home page, to boost
efficiency and multitasking.
Another key
asset of BlackBerry 10 is what RIM dubbed the "BlackBerry balance," a
system that allows users to separate professional communications and
applications from music, photographs and other personal items.
Such an
option means that if a user changes job, his or her former company can disable
the device's corporate side without affecting personal data.
RIM's
recent performance on Wall Street suggests the market is open to the BlackBerry
10. Shares have risen more than 30 percent since the start of the year,
although they dropped back over the last two sessions.
Carolina
Milanesi, an analyst for Gartner who specializes in consumer devices, said the
aim of the launch "is to reinstill faith in the BlackBerry brand and
capture both consumer and enterprises at the same time."
Milanesi
said a successful launch will at least give them a shot to get into the
game" but that BlackBerry has little room for error, after a launch
delayed several months.
"They
will not be forgiven for any mistakes," she said.
BlackBerry
shares fell 4.4 percent after the launch to $14.98.
According
to research firm IDC, BlackBerry's share of the global smartphone market
slipped to 4.7 percent in 2012, to 68 percent for Android and 18.8 percent for
Apple's iOS.
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The
BlackBerry 10 mobile platform is seen after being unveiled
January 30, 2013 in
New York City (AFP, Timothy A. Clary)
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