Research in Motion's new BlackBerry device,
the touch-enabled Z10, running on the company's
latest operating system will release in the US in mid-March. The handset was released in UK on January 31 and will be available in Canada starting Tuesday.
RIM unveiled new BlackBerrys last week after excruciating delays allowed Apple, Samsung and others to build commanding leads in the industry.
The stock fell 12 per cent after the January 30 kickoff, despite positive
reviews about the new BlackBerry 10 operating system. There's concern the phone isn't coming out sooner after RIM announced a March US release date last week.
Research In Motion chief executive Thorsten Heins in an interview with The Associated Press expressed his disappointed in the mid-March US release date. But he said the country and its phone carriers have a rigid testing system.
"We need to respect that. Am I a bit disappointed? Yeah, I would be lying saying no. But it is what it is and we're working with all our carrier partners to speed it up as much as we can," Heins said.
According to Heins, early data suggests
sales in the UK are above expectations.
He said a substantial number of UK users are moving from other platforms to BlackBerry and said that's an encouraging sign because they first targeted longtime BlackBerry users.
"It's beyond expectations," Heins said. "White is sold out already. The black is hard to stock up again. It's very encouraging. I won't share the number because I need to verify it, but we are getting a substantial number of users moving from other platforms to BlackBerry. That is an interesting data point."
Shares of RIM closed up 15 per cent on Monday on initial reports of strong UK sales and after an analyst upgraded the stock.
The US has been one
market in which RIM has been particularly hurting, even as the company is doing well in many places overseas. According to research firm IDC, shipments of BlackBerry phones plummeted from 46 per cent of the US market in 2008 to 2 per cent in 2012. The iPhone and Android now dominate.
Heins, who one year ago replaced longtime executives who had presided over BlackBerry's fall, said he's confident BlackBerry can become the third ecosystem behind Apple and phones running Google's Android operating system.
"We need to win back market share to be relevant," Heins said. "We have to be aggressive in the US market."
The
new BlackBerrys are a make-or-break product lineup after the pioneering brand lost its cachet not long after Apple's 2007 release of the iPhone, which reset expectations for what a smartphone should do.
RIM's BlackBerry Z10 will have only a touch-screen keyboard, like Apple Inc's trend-setting iPhone and most phones running Android, including Samsung Electronic Co's popular Galaxy line.
The Q10 will follow and will have a physical keyboard, a feature that has kept BlackBerry users loyal over the years because it makes typing easier. RIM had last week said the Q10 will start going on sale on some global carriers in April, but didn't say when US carriers will have it.
Heins said keyboard versions will likely be released eight to 10 weeks after a carrier releases the touch version. That could mean the Q10 keyboard version might not be released in the US until much later than mid-March or April.
Heins also addressed possible interest other companies might have in RIM should BlackBerry 10 prove successful and whether the Canadian government might block a foreign takeover.
"The recognition for BlackBerry 10 and what we built is pretty high. We got good reviews," he said. "That moves you into the middle of the radar screen so I expect some activity around it but we'll look at it one by one. We'll assess it and we'll make decisions with the board on what make sense."
However,
Business Today has confirmed information that the India rollout plans are on track. BlackBerry says the launch will happen in the "next few weeks". In any case, the India launch was scheduled to take place before the US launch.
PHOTO: Associated Press 
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