BlackBerry smartphone prototype unveiled
Research In Motion's new chief executive Tuesday unveiled a prototype BlackBerry smartphone powered by new operating software the company has pinned its future on.
Thorsten Heins, who took the CEO job at the Toronto-based company in January, revealed features of the BlackBerry 10 system running on a prototype device at the company's BlackBerry World conference in Orlando, Fla. He provided no software launch date.
Heins, who is trying to rally developers to make applications for the new operating system, promised each developer at the conference will go home with the prototype BlackBerry. In a speech broadcast on the BlackBerry World website, Heins stressed the device is not the finished product. "We're taking our time to make sure we get this right," he said.
The once iconic company has had difficulty competing with flashier, consumer-oriented phones such as Apple's iPhone and models that run Google's Android software.
Analysts say RIM's future depends on the new BlackBerry 10 software platform, although many say it may be too late.
The prototype BlackBerry has a touch screen but no physical keyboard. One of the new features is a modified touch- screen keypad that will allow users to select full words with a single keystroke. -- AP
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
