Thorsten Heins, RIM’s CEO, has made a bold claim. He says that BB10 (Blackberry 10), the company’s new operating system, will replace laptops in three to five years.
In an interview with the New York Times, Heins said, “Whenever you enter an office, you don’t have your laptop with you, you have your mobile computer power exactly here.”
“You will not carry a laptop within three to five years,” he asserts.
We never doubted that laptops would be obsolete in a few years, but we doubt devices running Blackberry 10 will have anything to do about it. Currently, there is one device that is causing the drop in sale of laptops. This is none other than the dominant force in the tablet market, Apple’s iPad. Another device that may cause the demise of laptops is hybrid devices that run Microsoft’s Windows 8.
According to Heins, Blackberry devices will negate the need to bring along devices with bigger screens. Blackberry devices, he says, will work like digital brains, which can be plugged into workstations.
Heins also explains that BB10-powered devices no longer need home buttons. A mere flick of the thumb allows users to switch from app to app. Text messages, emails, and social network updates are seen from the address book app, which shows updates beside the contact’s name.
When do we get to see BB10 in action? RIM is planning to launch Blackberry 10 and two new handsets on the 30th of January. We’re expecting the handsets to arrive in shops in February. The two new handsets are believed to be the London and Nevada. The Blackberry London is a touchscreen device, while the Blackberry Nevada is a QWERTY-sporting handset.
RIM has a lot riding on its Blackberry 10 software. It hopes its next generation software will allow it to get back in the game.
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