RIM Guns for Comeback With BlackBerry 10 Details
Well, the latest BlackBerry is here almost.
On Tuesday, Research In Motion teased the debut of the BlackBerry 10 operating system and a device prototype at its BlackBerry World event. A release date remains unknown, but most expect it to be sometime this fall.
The company unveiled a beta developer toolkit Tuesday for building BlackBerry 10 apps. Apps created with any of the BlackBerry 10 tools will run on BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets when the new platform becomes available for the PlayBook.
BlackBerry 10 builds upon the core values and exceptional user experiences that have attracted more than 77 million BlackBerry customers around the world today, said Alec Saunders, VP, developer relations and ecosystems development.
That should be enough to help boost RIM’s flagging share price, right? Nope. It was down almost 6 percent Tuesday, to $13.48. Less than four years ago, RIM was riding high at more than $144 per share.
Today’s announcement comes as the BlackBerry maker battles the unstoppable popularity of iPhones and Android devices.
“There is tremendous interest, anticipation and momentum building toward the launch of BlackBerry 10 devices … ” said Christopher Smith, VP, handheld application platform and tools at RIM.
The company will have to hope business-users and general consumers will be more impressed than investors.
