RIM changes company name, launches new crop of BlackBerry devices

delayed line of smartphones on
Wednesday it says will put the company
on the comeback trail in a market it once
dominated, promising its BlackBerry 10
devices will wow consumers and
businesses alike when they finally hit
stores.
Signaling his hopes for a fresh start for
the company that pioneered on-your-hip
email, chief executive Thorsten Heins said
RIM was abandoning the name it has
used since its inception in 1985. From
now on, he told tech analysts and other
guests, the company will just be known as
BlackBerry.
"We have transformed ourselves inside
and out, and we have defined our
vision ... which makes today the perfect
time for another big announcement I
want to share. From this point forward,
RIM becomes BlackBerry." Heins said at
the New York launch.
"It is one brand; it is one promise."
RIM shares rallied initially on Wednesday,
but soon fell to levels about 7% below
Tuesday's close. Over the past four years,
the stock has dropped as much as 90%
below its 2008 peak as the BlackBerry
lost ground to rival devices.
But in the last four months its shares
have more than doubled in value as buzz
grew about the new devices.
The new BlackBerry 10 phones will
compete with Apple's iPhone and devices
using Google's Android technology, both
of which have soared above the
BlackBerry in a competitive market.
The new devices boast fast browsers, new
features, smart cameras and, unlike
previous BlackBerry models, enter the
market primed with a large app library,
including services such as Skype and the
popular game Angry Birds.
Both new devices are sleek black
numbers, one with the small "qwerty"
keyboard that RIM made into its
trademark, and one a pure touchscreen
device that looks much like those its
competitors already produce.
"We have definitely been on a journey of
transformation, a journey to not only
transform our business and our brand,
but one which I truly believe will
transform mobile communications into
true mobile computing," Heins said.
RIM picked a range of venues for its
global launch parties. Toronto's
announcement was in the downtown art
deco Carlu rooms, while the Dubai event
was held at the $650-a-night Armani
hotel, which occupies six floors of the Burj
Khalifa, the world's tallest tower.
The New York event took place in a
sprawling basketball facility on the Lower
East Side of Manhattan, just north of the
Manhattan bridge.
The Blackberry has been "Re-designed.
Re-engineered. Re-invented," RIM said.
RIM launched its first BlackBerry as a way
for busy executives to stay in touch with
their clients and their offices, and the
company quickly cornered the market for
secure corporate and government email.
But its star faded as competition rose
from the likes of Apple and Google's
Android operating system.
The BlackBerry is now a far-behind also-
ran in the race for market share, with a
3.4% global showing in the fourth
quarter, down from 20% three years
before.
In North America, the market that sets
technology trends for the rest of the
world, RIM's fourth-quarter North
American market share fell to 2%, from
more than 40% three years ago