The chief executive of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, Thorsten Heins, declared Apple's iPhone outdated on Thursday, one day before AT&T began selling the touchscreen BlackBerry Z10 in the United States on Friday, more than six weeks after the device went on sale elsewhere.
Heins, speaking to The Associated Press on the eve of the much-delayed American launch, said a lack of innovation at Apple has left the iPhone's user interface stuck in the past. He noted that iPhone users must move in and out of applications one at a time, while the new BlackBerry Z10 allows true multitasking, according to Bulawayo24 News.
Why BlackBerry believes the iPhone has fallen behind
Heins pulled no punches about the device that once pushed his company to the brink. The iPhone was revolutionary five years ago, he said, but today it is just kind of sitting there.
It's still the same, Heins said of the iPhone. It is a sequential way to work and that's not what people want today anymore. They want multitasking.
The Z10's new software lets users keep multiple applications open at once, as on a desktop. Heins said BlackBerry users do not have to close an application to check an email.
We're changing it for the better because we're allowing people to peak in the hub, he said.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on the remarks.
Keyboard model Q10 faces further delays in the US
Heins also told the AP that the keyboard version of the new BlackBerry, the Q10, will not reach the US market for another two or three months. He had earlier promised eight to 10 weeks, meaning a further delay of up to two weeks.
The setback complicates RIM's fight to hold on to customers tempted by the iPhone and the range of devices running Google's Android operating system. Many BlackBerry users have stayed loyal precisely because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screens found on the iPhone and most Android devices, and each additional delay increases the temptation to switch.
Heins said the Q10 is simply not ready yet and part of the reason is out of his control.
It's our job to deliver the right software package and the right software quality to the carriers, he said. Then it is on the carriers to decide how intense they want their testing cycle to be and that really can range from a few weeks to three months.
How far BlackBerry has fallen in the US market
US carriers have reportedly not made testing the new devices a priority because RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, has lost dramatic ground in the American market even as it performs well overseas. According to research firm IDC, shipments of BlackBerry phones collapsed from 46 percent of the US market in 2008 to just 2 percent in 2012, as the iPhone and Android came to dominate.
Heins was blunt about what that means for the company's survival.
You got to win here to win everywhere else, he said. That's just the way it is. We've lost market share quite a bit, to put it mildly, and we absolutely need BlackBerry 10 to turn us around.
The decline has been brutal for a once-dominant brand. Wikipedia notes that in 2010 BlackBerry was worth more than Adidas, MTV or Ben and Jerry's before it withered against the rapid rise of both Apple and Google.
The stakes carry a warning for anyone who believes no technology giant is too big to fall, a lesson Zimbabwe knows well from watching once-unshakable Western corporations stumble while new powers rise elsewhere.
Early sales abroad are encouraging, Heins says
Heins said initial sales in other countries are encouraging, but he could not release numbers ahead of RIM's earnings report next Thursday.
I get more and more excited every day, he said. I really have to make sure I stay grounded and I don't lose my sense for reality. But for the whole company this is so important to finally be here, and to see people buying it, after we were told 30 months ago when we started that two quarters down the road we would be bankrupt, we would be out of business.
Both the touchscreen Z10 and the keyboard Q10 are part of RIM's attempted comeback after the pioneering brand lost its cachet not long after Apple's 2007 release of the iPhone.
FAQ
What did Thorsten Heins say about the iPhone?
Heins said the iPhone's user interface is outdated because Apple has not innovated, forcing users to work sequentially instead of multitasking as the BlackBerry Z10 allows.
When does the BlackBerry Z10 go on sale in the US?
AT&T began selling the touchscreen BlackBerry Z10 in the United States on Friday, more than six weeks after RIM launched the device in other markets.
When will the keyboard BlackBerry Q10 reach the US?
Heins said the Q10 will arrive in the US in two or three months, a delay of up to two weeks beyond his earlier estimate, partly because carrier testing cycles vary widely.