In this June 29, 2012, photo, the Canadian Flag flies in front of the Research In Motion (RIM) company logo on one of their many buildings,in Waterloo, Canada. Shareholders of Research In Motion, perhaps some of the most staunch supporters of the BlackBerry smartphone, are expected to take a far more critical view of the embattled company at its annual meeting on Tuesday. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Dave Chidley)ANICK JESDANUN
NEW YORK (AP) – The new marketing chief for BlackBerry smartphones isn’t dejected by perceptions that his products look ancient next to iPhones and Android devices.
Frank Boulben, four weeks into his job as chief marketing officer for Research in Motion Ltd., promises to impress people when phones running the company’s new BlackBerry 10 software are released in early 2013, at least a year later than analysts had expected.
RIM will tout features that current devices lack, he said. Few details about BlackBerry 10 have been released, but the company has said it will include the ability to run multiple programs at once and will let users switch between programs without returning to the home screen. Android devices and iPhones typically require people to return to the home screen to start or resume an app, while traditional computers let you jump directly to them.
“You’ll be able to flow seamlessly from one application to another,” Boulben said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “The underlying operating system is truly multitasking.”