Taking center-stage, RIM’s President and CEO Thorsten Heins unveiled the new phones, stating, “We knew large display was important, key to Blackberry 10 experience.”
“We have created a cinematic experience with the screen”, he added. Heins claimed that the browser is incredibly fast & intuitive. “You are one swipe away from all experiences,” he said.
Heins also made the announcement that RIM had cahnged the company name to BlackBerry.
The event began with RIM showcasing the reactions of people who had been asked to try the new features of BlackBerry 10 platform. RIM claimed that the developer community around the world has embraced the BlackBerry 10 OS.
RIM has redesigned the system to embrace the multimedia, apps and touch-screen experience prevalent today.
The new operating system promises better multitasking than either the iPhone or Android. Simply swipe a finger across the phone’s display screen to switch to another program.
All emails and notifications from such applications as Twitter and Facebook go to the BlackBerry Hub, a nerve center accessible with a finger swipe even if you have another application open.
One can peek into it and open an email, or return to the previous application without opening the email. RIM has earlier said that the 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.
For instance, IT managers can prevent personal apps from running inside corporate firewalls, but those managers won’t have access to personal data on the device.
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 is also claiming that the BlackBerry 10’s browser will be speedy, even faster than browsers for laptop and desktop computers.
RIM burst on the scene with the BlackBerry in 2003. That was long before the iPhone and other competing technologies emerged to steal control of the market from RIM with their more consumer-friendly smartphones.
The company boomed as the maker of “crackberries,” a nickname stemming from the addiction the phones engendered in users.
But now, unless the Blackberry 10 is a hit, RIM faces becoming a footnote in an increasingly competitive market led by Apple and rivals who use Google’s Android operating system.
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