Taste of new BlackBerry

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Thorsten Heins, president and CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, introduces a BlackBerry-integrated automobile during the BlackBerry World conference, Tuesday in Orlando Fla. (CP)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The chief executive of Research In Motion stood before the developers who could play a crucial role in the company's future and gave them a first-look Tuesday at the new BlackBerry 10 operating system.

The widely anticipated unveiling at its annual BlackBerry World conference centered on some awe-inspiring technological developments sandwiched between pounding club music and a heavy dose of flashing spotlights that could send any raver into a tizzy.

The three-day showcase is intended to get fickle programmers excited about the future of RIM (TSX:RIM) and developing applications for the BlackBerry 10. The Waterloo, Ont., company is struggling to recover from numerous blunders over the past year, including flagging sales, a woefully underdeveloped apps store and criticism that it hasn't released a new smartphone in ages.

"We're taking our time to make sure we get this right," CEO Thorsten Heins told developers shortly before revealing the BlackBerry 10 prototype at the keynote address.

"I know how much hard work went into this," he added.

Heins, who marked his 100th day atop the smartphone maker on Tuesday, then pulled a touch-screen device from his pocket running the BlackBerry 10 OS in its beta version.

"It's working, and it's working well," Heins reassured the crowd.

"That's why we took the decision to give it to our developers today because we want them to get going on this."

The device is called the Alpha Dev, and will only be available to developers. RIM will launch consumer hardware some time later this year that will likely have a noticeably different appearance than the black, rectangular device that looks somewhat like a mini-PlayBook tablet.

While the new operating system is still in its test stages, Heins and other executives led the audience through a tour of some of the flashier new features of the system.

Overall, the interface shared a familiarity with those of the popular Apple iPhone and Android devices, though there were several new features that made it different.

Some of the highlights included a modified touch-screen keypad that adapts to common words each user types, and then allows them to select the full words with a single swipe of the screen.

But it was the smartphone's camera that really seemed to excite the audience. It can capture several frames in quick succession, frames that can be combined to create a single "ideal" picture. For example, if one person was blinking in a group photo, they can be replaced with an image of their face taken moments earlier with their eyes open.

When the company demonstrated fixing one picture of a woman -- opening her eyes and tacking a smile on her face -- the audience gasped and burst into applause.

That enthusiasm was no doubt what organizers hoped for, as app developers will be a major part of the company's strategy to keep pace with competitors.

That enthusiasm didn't appear to carry over to investors. Shares in Research In Motion closed down 82 cents, or 5.8 per cent, to $13.31 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

For several years, the company has been criticized for neglecting its app store, BlackBerry App World, even when both Apple and Android devices were racing forward with a wide array of add-ons that ranged from popular games like Angry Birds to more practical assistants that helped file taxes and change TV channels.

If RIM is able to get more developers onside before the launch of its new devices, it will be further ammunition in its defensive against a rush competition expected later this year, when Apple will likely debut the next edition of its iPhone and new Android devices hit the market.

Analysts have observed that by the time RIM releases its new BlackBerrys they'll be playing catch-up to the new iPhone and Android devices.

"The missing pieces are the apps because to a large extent the average user, who I think they're trying to attract, is after them," said Queen's University marketing professor and tech expert John Pliniussen.

RIM was supposed to unveil its new operating system last year, and Pliniussen noted RIM shares fell after Tuesday's announcement.

"Maybe there is a rabbit in their hat, but right now there's nothing in the hat," he said.

"Hopefully they can wave their magic wand and come up with something spellbinding."

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 2, 2012 B3