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Heins said BlackBerry 10, despite its delayed launch date, is what will ultimately "bridge the gap" between the financial position RIM is in today and where it hopes to be over the coming months.
"The successful launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform and the delivery of high-quality, full-feature Blackberry 10 smartphones remains the company’s number one priority," he said during the call.
He assured listeners that RIM engineers are working "relentlessly" to meet the revised 2013 launch date, and said there is a robust developer community dedicated to making the new software release a success. BlackBerry 10 is slated to deliver a number of new features to BlackBerry smartphones, including a new touchscreen keyboard and camera.
In addition to BlackBerry 10, RIM's future seems to be riding on its ability to make itself more lean and cut costs wherever possible. To do that, Heins reiterated that headcount reductions will continue until another 5,000 employees are shaved off its 16,500-employee workforce.
"I understand this is an incredibly difficult message to deliver, but it is necessary," he said, referring to the layoffs.
Other organizational changes include the appointment of Steve Zipperstein, former General Counsel of Verizon Wireless, as Chief Legal Officer. As first mentioned in May, Heins also said RIM is continuing to work with J.P. Morgan and other financial institutions to better navigate and weigh its strategic options. New partnerships, through which the company could license its services and software offerings, are also being considered.
The company warned that its next few quarters will be "very challenging" financially as it strives to get BlackBerry 10 off the ground.
PUBLISHED JUNE 28, 2012
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