RIM to make sure the core DNA will be a key part of BlackBerry 10
Research In Motion turned to core supporters Wednesday in Ottawa, at the BlackBerry Government Forum 2012 as the company’s shares fell after a biting report from a securities analyst.
The company invited federal politicians and their staff to a sneak preview of BlackBerry 10, an event that RIM’s Canadian managing director acknowledged was a bit like preaching to the converted.
“Government is a critical constituency for RIM and for BlackBerry,” said Andrew MacLeod.
“It’s where we got our start, in many ways, and it’s an area that we are going to continue to innovate and deliver value.”
RIM shares fell by more than eight per cent Wednesday to $8.23 after a report from an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities warned the BlackBerry 10 software may be “dead on arrival.”
MacLeod dismissed Faucette as “not a fan” and as just one voice in a varied landscape of people looking at the new platform.
“Two other analysts came out this week with some very, very positive reactions to the platform and some positive reactions to our prospects,” MacLeod told The Canadian Press.
“We’re focused on delivering value and innovating, and we think if we do that, then we’ll get the rest of the stuff to follow.”
RIM’s stock had been on a rally of late, lifting steadily in the past week to a four-month high. Wednesday’s tumble nearly wiped out all of those gains.
Besides showcasing the BB10 for politicos and business people, RIM was planning to announce Thursday how it would migrate some of the key security features of its current suite of devices to the new model.
“We’re really going to make sure the core DNA — what made Blackberry so attractive to government customers, to enterprise customers — will of course be a key part of the BlackBerry 10 and architecture and system moving forward,” said MacLeod.
Many political staffers, journalists and others swear by the BlackBerry over other devices for one main reason —its keyboard, which can make writing on the fly fast and easy compared with the touch screens offered by RIM’s competitors.
