‘RIM’ becomes ‘BlackBerry’ as new Z10 devices launched

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) changed its name to BlackBerry and launched its new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system Wednesday. “As we launch BlackBerry 10 around the world, now is the right time to adopt the iconic BlackBerry name,” Thorsten Heins, president and CEO of the company, said in a statement. In a release, the Waterloo-based company said its name change was effective “immediately.” On Wednesday, BlackBerry launched its new Z10 and Q10 smartphones. The keyboardless Z10 will be available on Feb. 5 from carriers BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., MTS Allstream Inc., Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd., Telus Corp. and its flanker brand Koodo Mobile. Bell and Telus said in separate releases that the Z10 smartphone is available for preorder on their websites for $150 on a three-year term or for $650 without a contract. Rogers said in a release that the Z10 would be available in black or white at $150 on a three-year term. Virgin Mobile Canada, a brand under BCE’s Bell Mobility division, which is also offering the new device for $150 on a three-year term, said it will sell the device in The Source stores, also owned by BCE, starting Feb. 5. Other carriers did not release pricing details. In a release, BlackBerry said the new operating platform has new features, pointing to BlackBerry Flow, enabling seamless switching between applications, and Time Shift, allowing users to correct flaws in photos such as people with their eyes closed. BlackBerry also said its BlackBerry Balance technology feature allows users to separate work applications, information and data from personal content on each BB10 device. The company said that the BlackBerry World app store now offers 70,000 BB10 applications. “In addition, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Foursquare apps for BlackBerry 10 are preinstalled, and BlackBerry 10 customers will have access to leading applications from across the globe,” the release said. Malik Saadi, principal analyst at United Kingdom-based research firm Informa Telecoms and Media, said in a research note Wednesday that the new Z10 device offers some of the “most efficient” messaging and social networking services to date. He said the Z10 device needs to attract business users and advanced mobile consumers within its first three months on the market. “Sales above 3 million units of BlackBerry Z10 in the first three months on sale will send BlackBerry shares sky high, but anything below 1 million will not be well received by investors,” Saadi said. The launch of BlackBerry’s new BB10 system has been anticipated by the industry as the Canadian company dealt with declining sales and, for the first time, net subscriber losses in the third quarter of 2012. In the three-month period leading up to Dec. 1, 2012, BlackBerry said its subscriber base fell to 79 million users from 80 million. Going into the company’s 2012 fourth quarter, it said it expected further losses. The launch of the BB10 system was marked by delays as the company said in June that it would pursue cost savings, which included operating savings and layoffs of about 5,000 employees across its global workforce. The BB10 release was originally scheduled to take place in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. BlackBerry also saw a change in its executive team over the past year as Heins was appointed to the position of CEO after the resignation of long-time RIM co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie in January 2012. At the time, Lazaridis said in a statement that the company was entering a new phase, “and we felt it was time for a new leader to take it through that phase and beyond.” The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that though the Z10 will be available in Canada in February, U.S. carriers will not make the devices available to their subscribers until March. Heins told The Journal in an interview that the delay is a result of the longer period of time it takes U.S.-based carriers to test new devices. “They do the best they can,” he told the Journal. “Would I have loved to see it earlier? Absolutely. Make no mistake, everyone’s trying to pull the date in.” In a separate release, BlackBerry also said it appointed Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys to the position of global creative director. In her new role, the company said Keys would work with app developers, content creators, retailers, carriers and the entertainment community to further shape the BB10 platform. —With reporting by Danika Grenier at dgrenier@thewirereport.ca and editing by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

‘RIM’ becomes ‘BlackBerry’ as new Z10 devices launched

News | January 30, 2013

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‘RIM’ becomes ‘BlackBerry’ as new Z10 devices launched

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