During the launch event for the BlackBerry 10 on Wednesday, Research In Motion, the BlackBerry's creator, made another big announcement: the Canadian firm would officially be changing its name from" RIM" to "BlackBerry."
RIM (or now, BlackBerry's) CEO Thorsten Heins informed the audience in New York of the rebranding, which has the company getting rid of the name it's used since its inception in the mid-1980s. “It is one brand, it is one promise … From today on, we are BlackBerry everywhere in the world,” Heins told the New York audience.
The name change comes in a make or break moment for the company, which has seen falling shares and sales as Apple and Android phone makers flex their muscle in the smartphone market. The move makes sense; at least anecdotally, it always seemed as though normal consumers knew the brand "BlackBerry," but not its maker, "RIM."
"We have definitely been on a journey of transformation, a journey to not only transform our business and our brand, but one which I truly believe will transform mobile communications into true mobile computing," Heins added at the launch event.
The company announced two phones -- a Z10 and a Q10.
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