RIM plans to launch at least six BB10 phones in 2013

By Trevor Mogg January 10, 2013

Research In Motion is gearing up for its life-saving BlackBerry 10 launch at the end of this month, with its chief marketing officer announcing the company’s intention to launch at least six handsets for the new platform before year-end.

Speaking to Fierce Wireless at this week’s CES, Frank Boulben said the phones will hit a range of price points, encompassing the high, middle and lower segments of the market.

First up will be a touchscreen device as well as one featuring a Qwerty keyboard. These two handsets will be unveiled at an event set to take place simultaneously in a number of countries around the world on January 30 and become available to consumers by the end of February.

Boulben confirmed that some 150 carriers around the world are currently testing BB10 devices. With a subscriber base of 79 million and lengthy experience in the mobile business, the CMO said carriers “very much believe” BB10 has the potential to become the third platform after iOS and Android, beating off competition from Windows Phone and others.

The new platform will launch with 70,000 apps, Fierce Wireless reported. This of course pales in comparison with the iOS and Android app stores, both of which are speeding towards the million mark, but if developer support for BB10 is as strong as Boulben claims it is, the virtual shelves of BlackBerry App World will fill up steadily over time.

The future of RIM rests on the success of BB10. Once the king of the smartphone market, the Ontario-based mobile company has fallen out of favor with consumers in recent years. Accused of resting on its laurels and failing to innovate, users have flocked to Apple’s iPhone and Android handsets instead, perceived by many to be more user-friendly, feature-rich devices – and, as already mentioned, supported by huge app stores.

However, while RIM has seen BlackBerry’s share of the smartphone market decline in North America and Europe, the devices are still popular among teens and also sell well in developing markets. RIM will be eager to exploit these areas with its new platform while attempting to win back many of those who have turned their back on the company in the last few years.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

BlackBerry 10

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

BlackBerry boss ‘outraged’ by T-Mobile’s ‘ill-conceived’ anti-BB iPhone promotion

BlackBerry Q10 review back

Understandably annoyed at T-Mobile's move late last week to email its BlackBerry customers and suggest they switch to an iPhone 5S, the boss of the struggling mobile firm took to the company blog Tuesday to thank BlackBerry users for expressing their "outrage" directly to the wireless carrier through social media, adding that "we are outraged too."
John Chen, who's been in charge at the Canadian mobile maker since taking over from Thorsten Heins in November, said T-Mobile was badly mistaken if it thought its proposed deal was, as the carrier called it, "a great offer for BlackBerry customers."
In his message to BlackBerry users, Chen said he was puzzled as to why T-Mobile failed to contact him "before they launched this clearly inappropriate and ill-conceived marketing promotion."
Throughout the 275-word blog post, Chen spoke of BlackBerry customers' loyalty, partnership and commitment to the brand, which, he said in a somewhat biting remark, drew "a sharp contrast with the behavior of our longtime business partner."
He even offered a teaser to BlackBerry users with T-Mobile, saying an offer was in the works "designed especially for you."
The backlash from BlackBerry users in response to T-Mobile's iPhone 5S offer forced boss John Legere to acknowledge their anger via his Twitter account, saying, "We give our customers choices, but you don't have to give up your loyalty. We will continue to support."
The carrier announced back in September that it would no longer stock BlackBerry phones in its network of stores because they were failing to sell in any significant quantity, though T-Mobile's David Carey said at the time that this was partly because BlackBerry was selling primarily to businesses rather than consumers visiting its stores. It's still possible, however, to order a BlackBerry phone through the carrier and have it shipped.
Chen, whose monumental task to turn the company around won't have been made any easier by T-Mobile's recent offer, closed by addressing T-Mobile directly, saying he hoped the two companies "can find a way forward that allows us to serve a shared customers once again."

Mobile

BlackBerry BB10 update brings new Hub features, picture passwords, FM radio, and more

BlackBerry Q10 review front apps

BlackBerry on Tuesday introduced an update for its BB10 operating system, bringing with it "hundreds" of enhancements for owners of its Z10, Z30, Q5 and Q10 handsets.
Version 10.2.1, which BlackBerry is touting as an update that "lets you do more, more easily," brings with it improved management of messages and notifications in BlackBerry Hub, the ability to create SMS and email groups, a picture-based password feature, a customizable Settings menu, and the ability to save webpages for reading offline later.
It also includes a new incoming call screen that allows you to swipe to the left to connect with the caller or swipe to the right if you're busy or prefer not to talk, and features "new intuitive icons [that] allow you to instantly silence the call, or send a Reply Now response through BBM, SMS or email that you can't answer the phone right away," BlackBerry's Donny Halliwell said in a blog post introducing the update.
An FM radio that doesn't require a network connection to use also comes as part of 10.2.1, though this particular feature won't show up on the Z10.
Something that doesn't get a mention in Halliwell's blog post but is likely to prove popular with some users is the improved support for Android app (APK file) installation, allowing for simple over-the-air installs of Android software. "Unlike before when you had to run though a lengthy process of converting and sideloading Android apps, OS 10.2.1 now lets you install them right on your device with just a few taps," news site CrackBerry explains, though it adds that some apps work better than others.
The update is available globally now, although there may be delays for some device owners as the rollout is subject to carrier approvals.
Despite its wobbles and woes, BlackBerry is pressing on with its business, with new CEO John Chen attempting to steady the ship and save the company from extinction.
Keen to focus more on the enterprise market with sales and services, while at the same time maintaining and expanding its customer base in emerging markets with upcoming Foxconn-made phones, the troubled company is clearly determined to get moving again in the mobile market.

Mobile

BlackBerry to end partnership with ‘creative director’ Alicia Keys

alicia keys leaving blackberry

Alicia Keys is set to leave her role as 'global creative director' at stumbling mobile maker BlackBerry at the end of this month after a year in the position.
The award-winning singer-songwriter teamed up with the Waterloo, Ontario company to great fanfare in January 2013, with then-CEO Thorsten Heins wheeling her out with the all-new Z10, the BB10 handset BlackBerry executives hoped would transform the company's fortunes. It didn't.
Keys, we were told at the time, would oversee BB10-related creative projects, though for many people the appointment was little more than a PR stunt designed to highlight the new phone and mobile platform.
Despite appearing at various corporate events and working on a scholarship program encouraging young women to become more involved in the fields of science and technology, Keys' biggest BlackBerry-related headline-grabbing moment came for all the wrong reasons when tweets posted from her verified Twitter account in February indicated an iPhone had been used. Keys claimed at the time that her account had been hacked.
The parting of ways should be good for both – struggling BlackBerry will be able to save a few bucks while Keys can separate herself from a brand that has failed to make a go of the platform she was hired to promote.
With rival handsets from the likes of Apple and Samsung proving popular with consumers, and BlackBerry's share of the US market tanking, the ailing company has been forced to make big changes in recent times, laying off thousands of workers, firing its CEO, and, after failing to find a buyer, agreeing to a strategic investment from a group headed by Toronto-based Fairfax Financial.
Its most recent earnings report made for grim reading, showing a $4.4 billion loss for Q3 2013, together with a big write-down of assets.
New CEO John Chen has promised to focus less on the consumer market and more on its traditional base of enterprise users. In a commentary piece for CNBC published earlier this week, he said, "When it comes to enterprise, we're still the leader. Don't be fooled by the competition's rhetoric claiming to be more secure or having more experience than BlackBerry."
As for the likelihood of a replacement global creative director, we're not expecting an announcement anytime soon.
[Source: CTV News]