By Claire Reilly
BlackBerry has unveiled its new BlackBerry 10 operating system and Z10 smartphone to Australian consumers with a large-scale launch in Sydney yesterday. In news for local telcos and retailers, the device is set to launch through Optus on 25 March and through Telstra on 26 March, as well as in Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and FoneZone, with Harvey Norman setting a pre-sale price of $733.
Showcasing the features and benefits of the new device and its OS to business customers and developers at the launch, the CEO of BlackBerry, Thorsten Heins, acknowledged the long road that had led the company to this launch.
“This is a very, very exciting time for BlackBerry,” said Heins. “Two years of hard work on a whole new platform, now leading the company through a very, very difficult and challenging transition, and here we are.”
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Although his presence in Australia could be seen as indicator enough, Heins reiterated the importance of Australia to BlackBerry.
“Australia is a key market for us. This is really where we want to be achieving breakthrough, innovation and really create leadership in the market. Australia is a very advanced market in terms of innovation, in terms of network technology, in terms of using mobile computing to improve business.”
Business was certainly a key focus for the brand at yesterday’s launch, with serious time dedicated to BlackBerry’s enterprise goals and the new technologies that were designed to assist business customers, including increased security and the ability to create separate work-life and personal-life profiles when using the Z10.
But while the big picture discussion was all about big enterprise, Heins was quick to point out the brand’s consumer proposition.
“You’ve got to have consumer applications on a device — that’s what matters to consumers today,” he said. "Whether you’re private or in business, BlackBerry’s hyper-connected, multitasking concept also applies to consumers that want a BlackBerry — [it’s about having] attractive features that get stuff done.”
Heins pointed out a number of new features on the Z10 that are designed for a superior user experience, including the “Story Maker” movie editing app, a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard that replicates the physical keyboard experience and a contacts feature that collates all relevant information under one person’s contact entry — including images, social media updates, contact details and LinkedIn profiles.
While critics have been quick to say that BlackBerry 10 could be a ‘last chance’ for the embattled Canadian company, Heins insisted that BlackBerry was in a strong position.
“The whole company is focused on BlackBerry 10 because we want to prove that the platform is good, that the product is good and that the buyer proposition is good,” he said. “Make no mistake, the company is fully focused on bring BlackBerry 10 to market and making this a great success.
“We have 79 million BlackBerry users, so we have a pent up demand that we need and want to satisfy. We have strong carrier partners that want us, because guess what? They don’t want a duopoly. They’re begging for choices and [this is] a new platform — not just a me-too platform.
“We still have a way to go, but I think we got off the starting grid pretty well.”
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins (left) at yesterday's BlackBerry Z10 launch, with event host Adam Spencer.
The new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone.