January 31, 2013, 1:01 PM — Thorsten Heins, CEO of the company formerly known as Research in Motion and now named simply BlackBerry, has kept his core promise to retool the BlackBerry OS for the modern era. The BlackBerry 10 OS announced yesterday, and available in the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone in the U.K. today and the U.S. in March, is a big shift away from the outdated platform that has all but faded in terms of sales.
But the BlackBerry 10 OS poses no threat to Apple's iOS or Google's Android, which are both much more sophisticated and much more capable. It's Microsoft that should worry about BlackBerry 10, both because Windows Phone 8 pales in comparison and because BlackBerry 10 echoes many of the familiar messaging capabilities that will appeal to those old-school BlackBerry users who have so far resisted iOS and Android.
[ Recap: How the BlackBerry fell so far. | Explained: RIM's BES 10 MDM road map. | Get expert advice about planning and implementing your BYOD strategy with InfoWorld's in-depth "Mobile and BYOD Deep Dive" PDF special report. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobilize newsletter. ]
The sharp BlackBerry Z10The Z10 is a slick smartphone, made of textured plastic that is comfortable to hold and Apple-like in its simple design. The 4.2-inch screen is sharp, though middle of the pack in size, larger than an iPhone's and smaller than the popular Samsung Galaxy devices running Android.
