RIM CEO: Confident BlackBerry 10 will take share from rivals
Thorsten Heins said he expects entry-level BlackBerry 10 phones to hit the market next year.
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Research In Motion CEO Thorsten Heins has no shortage of confidence, boasting to investors that he believes BlackBerry 10 will take market share away from his rivals.
The new platform will also attract consumers new to smartphones to, Heins said during the company's quarterly conference call.
RIM's BlackBerry 10 smartphones will target mid-tier consumers and higher when they first launch, but Heins hinted at a lower end version some time next year.
"We're working on a concept for the entry level," Heins said during the company's quarterly conference call today. "You might see a product in the entry level by next year."
For now, RIM is content with positioning its current BlackBerry 7 devices as the low-end product. Heins said the phones have done well in that segment.
Heins promised a big global launch for BlackBerry 10, and said he had been running through a world tour visiting carriers and drumming up interest for the platform. He said the company would have to educate consumers and get them "up to speed" on BlackBerry 10 before the launch.
He also gave a minor update to the company's strategic review, only saying he has met with several companies about the opportunity to license BlackBerry technology or strike a partnership. He didn't speak specifically on whether he has made any progress on those talks.