RIM changes name, launches BlackBerry 10 in comeback bid names them Q10, Z10

The new crop of BlackBerry 10 smartphones has finally arrived after a lengthy delay that allowed other mobile devices and operating systems made by Apple, Google and Samsung to build commanding leads in a market that is redefining society and technology.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. unveiled its long-awaited line-up of revamped smartphones and software at simultaneous events held in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Dubai, Johannesburg, Jakarta and Delhi. Underscoring the stakes riding on the products, RIM announced that it is changing the company's name to BlackBerry.

The first devices in BlackBerry's new generation will be called the Q10, which will feature a physical keyboard like previous versions of the BlackBerry, and the Z10 will have only touch-screen keyboard, like Apple's trend-setting iPhone and other handsets running on Google's Android software, including Samsung's popular Galaxy.

RIM's fate is riding on the new BlackBerrys. The Canadian company's losses have been piling up in the past two years while the iPhone and Android devices have been winning millions of zealous converts.

Today represents a new day in the history of BlackBerry,'' RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said in New York.

Investors evidently didn't like what they saw. RIM's stock fell 71 cents, or more than 4 percent, to $14.95 in early afternoon trading.

Repeated delays have left the once-pioneering BlackBerry an afterthought in the shadow of the iPhone and Google's Android-driven devices. There has even been talk that the fate of the company that created the BlackBerry in 1999 is no longer certain.

Heading into Wednesday's event, there was renewed optimism. Previews of the BlackBerry 10 software have gotten favorable reviews on blogs. Financial analysts are starting to see some slight room for a comeback. RIM's stock has more than doubled from its nine-year low in September, though it's still nearly 90 percent below its 2008 peak of $147.

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